Nil Desperandum
by Lily Winterwood
Summary: Hogwarts is all but a dream now to the Nations, especially for Arthur Kirkland as he faces Voldemort's totalitarian regime. Sequel to Blurring House Lines; follows plotline of Deathly Hallows.
1. Pain, Blood, Tears, and Despair

**Title:** Nil Desperandum  
**Character(s) or Pairing(s):** Most, if not all Nations. Asakiku, FrSey, USBela, and canonical Potterverse pairings.  
**Rating:** R.  
**Warnings:** Implied torture and all the trimmings of war. Also some sexuality.  
**Notes:** This is set during the Potter era. The Nations are a year older than Harry and Co. This is the sequel to _Blurring House Lines_, and I strongly suggest you read that before this.

"All that is gold does not glitter,  
Not all those who wander are lost;  
The old that is strong does not wither,  
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.  
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,  
A light from the shadows shall spring;  
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,  
The crownless again shall be king."

–_J.__R.R. Tolkien_

"Have hope… we're coming for you."

–_Battlestar Galactica (2003)_

**Nil Desperandum**

**Part I**

_Pain. Blood. Tears._

_Despair._

"_Arthur! Arthur!"_

_Someone was yelling his name. He didn't care who or why._

_Someone was pulling at him, forcing him to follow them._

_Someone was casting spells – he can hear the incantations, the sound of spells hitting or missing targets…_

_He couldn't see, he couldn't feel; he could only hear the sounds of death and destruction around him and feel the pain, the blood, the tears… the despair._

_Where was he?_

* * *

Arthur Kirkland, the personification of England, woke up to darkness that was almost absolute. His hands were tied.

"Hello?" he called to the blackness. "Can anyone hear me?"

There was a faint sound of movement in the blackness. "Who are you?" a feeble voice asked.

"Arthur Kirkland. And you?"

"Ollivander, the wandmaker."

Arthur seriously wished he had his wand. "Can you free me from my binds?" he queried.

More shuffling, and suddenly a hand grabbed his arm and there was the faint sound of something cutting through rope. Soon, Arthur was free from the ropes binding him. "Thank you," he said to the darkness.

"It's no problem," Ollivander replied. "I remember you visiting my shop before."

"Really?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, yes. Your wand was eleven inches, royal oak, with a strand of unicorn hair. It had been lying about the shop for almost the longest time... it wasn't compatible with anyone else..."

"How did you end up here? The _Prophet_ said you just vanished..."

"I was abducted." Ollivander sighed. Arthur could hear him walking away. He walked forward in the darkness, finally finding a wall of the room in which he was imprisoned. "The Death Eaters wanted me for questioning... they tortured me, trying to make me divulge the secrets of wandlore... they asked me questions I had no answer to..."

"What sorts of questions?" Arthur asked, leaning against the wall.

"Something about twin cores. You see... Harry Potter and the Dark Lord... their wands share a twin core. Phoenix feathers from the same phoenix."

Arthur gasped a little. "And the result of that...?"

"I do not know! But it apparently worries the Dark Lord, which is why he has brought me here..."

They fell silent for a moment.

"Why did you come here, Arthur Kirkland?" Ollivander asked after a while.

"Voldemort wanted me. The Death Eaters threatened to kill someone I cared for if I did not go with them. So I came quietly to save my friends," Arthur replied, feeling tears slip down his cheeks.

* * *

Dumbledore had been laid to rest; all the students were sent home after the funeral.

Kiku, Alfred, Madeline, and Francis had moved into a flat in London together, everyone contributing to paying the inordinate rent each month. Francis and Madeline shared a room; Alfred and Kiku shared the other one. They all set about trying to get jobs, but unfortunately they had not finished taking all of their NEWTs prior to Dumbledore's assassination. They hadn't recieved the results of the exams they did take, so it was impossible for them to get the jobs they aspired for.

"And we don't have qualifying Muggle education, either," Alfred F. Jones lamented as they sat around the coffee table after another hard, fruitless day of seeking employment.

"Yes, my bank account's starting to feel rather bare," Madeline Desmarais sighed.

"What are we even staying here for?" Kiku Honda wondered, staring out the window. "I want to hunt down those Death Eaters and rescue Arthur..."

"Ah, hell hath no fury like a sundered lover," Francis Bonnefois quipped, wrapping an arm around Madeline. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"We still need to attend Bill and Fleur's wedding," Madeline added.

Alfred chuckled. "Won't that be fun, Francis? Fred told me that Fleur's inviting some French veela cousins – maybe you ought to introduce her to Madeline..."

Madeline swatted at him with a fish-shaped cushion; Alfred laughed and tried to block it with his hands.

"We're also expected to escort Harry from his house over to the Burrow," Alfred continued, and Kiku frowned.

"Since when? I thought that Mad-Eye was taking him to the Burrow with Side-Along Apparition?"

"Since this morning," Madeline replied, holding up the morning's copy of the _Daily Prophet_. In huge black letters the headline read:

**DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT HEAD ATTACKED BY DEATH EATERS**

_Two unidentified Death Eaters attacked Erin O'Brian, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, last night at the Ministry._

_O'Brian sustained heavy injuries, and will be unable to resume her job for at least a month, says Healers at St. Mungo's._

"_Whatever they did to her is taking a while to mend," said Healer Samantha Wycklestern. "We are trying all we can but nothing seems to be working."_

_While O'Brian recuperates, Pius Thickenesse will take her place as department head. Meanwhile, investigations are underway regarding her attackers._

"_I don't know who attacked my sister, but if I find them I will make sure they are locked away for the rest of their lives," said Liam MacDonald, brother of O'Brian and a worker at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. "I might sound overprotective, but these assassination attempts should be unsettling to everyone, not just the family members of the victims."_

_Other members of O'Brian's family either declined to comment or, in the case of Arthur Kirkland, were not available._

"What does that have to do with our plan?" Kiku wondered aloud as he looked up from the paper. "I mean, other than the fact that Arthur's mentioned... and it's his sister the Death Eaters attacked..."

He didn't want to think about Arthur. It brought tears to his eyes every time he did.

"It has to do with our plan because of Thickenesse's promotion to Erin's spot," Francis replied.

"Yeah, they say he has been friends with some Death Eaters in the past," Alfred chipped in. "He might be put under the Imperious Curse and stop us from using the usual modes of transportation to get Harry to the Burrow."

* * *

Arthur didn't know what time it was. He didn't even know what date it was. Time had no meaning when one was stuck in a dark cellar, after all.

"How long have you been here?" he asked Ollivander, but the wandmaker made no noise.

_Maybe he's asleep_, Arthur thought. Being trapped in a dark cellar tended to be quite boring.

He leaned against the stone wall. So far, no one had come into the cellar to interrogate him, something that only added to his anxiety. What would the interrogation be like? He was certain they would use the Cruciatus Curse on him. What else would they do? He didn't want to know.

He closed his eyes, but that was useless seeing that even with his eyes open he couldn't see in front of him anyways.

When he opened his eyes again it was because someone was wailing. For a moment he thought he was still asleep, but then he remembered where he was.

The cellar door swung open and Wormtail was there, silver hand gleaming in the light from his wand. "_Silencio_!" he squeaked, pointing his wand at the frail, emanciated form of Ollivander.

Arthur watched him leave, taking all the light with him.

* * *

"Francis! Bonjour, bonjour, mon ami..." Fleur Delacour, as beautiful as ever, swooped down on Francis in the Burrow kitchen, kissing him on both cheeks. Kiku looked away, suddenly averse to seeing gestures of affection.

"Fleur, ma belle fleur! C'est bon de te voir!" Francis smiled as well. "Comment vas-tu?"

"Je vais bien, merci," Fleur beamed at him. "Et qui est cette jolie fille ici?"

"Ah, Fleur, je te présente ma petite amie Madeline." At that, Madeline slipped her hand into the crook of Francis's arm.

Fleur kissed Madeline on both cheeks. "Enchantée," she cooed.

Kiku walked out of the kitchen, feeling rather nauseous. He looked out a window in the living room, watching Alfred and Ginny play a game of one-on-one Quidditch.

"Missing Arthur?" the voice of Hermione Granger asked. Kiku turned to look at her. Her bushy brown hair had been done up in a messy bun and her brown eyes were worried. "I mean... you seem to be the only unhappy person in this house and you were with him in the Astronomy Tower when it happened –" She stopped when Kiku put up a hand.

"Please, Hermione, I don't want to remember that," the Japanese said solemnly.

"Right," she whispered, falling silent. Kiku smiled a little.

"Should I act happy?" he asked her. "For your sake?"

"Oh, you don't have to," she mumbled, looking flustered.

Kiku looked out the window again. "I think I should. For Arthur."

* * *

But Arthur was anything but happy at the moment.

"You are pureblood, aren't you?" Voldemort demanded. Arthur refused to answer.

The Dark Lord glowered at him, and Arthur could feel the icy grasp of fear start to take him.

"Answer me, Kirkland! _Crucio_!"

Arthur screamed as the knives assaulted him, screamed as the pain overwhelmed him.

"Yes," he finally ground out. "I am a pureblood and distantly related to the other Nations of Europe whether by blood or by marriage."

"That's better," Voldemort breathed, letting the spell die. "But how is it that your family has never married into the pureblood families of Britain?"

Arthur glared up at him, wanting to deny him answers but fearing the Cruciatus Curse.

"Nations usually do not marry humans," he said, recalling his history. "It would cause unbearable pain to both, because the Nation would outlive the human and both will have to struggle against the bonds of time and death."

"Why not make the human immortal?" Voldemort queried.

Arthur frowned slightly. "Do I look like I can do that?" he retorted.

"Do not speak to the Dark Lord in such a manner, you ungrateful little blood-traitor!" Bellatrix Lestrange howled from her place next to the mantelpiece of the drawing room, where she had been observing the interrogation.

"Hush, Bella," Voldemort said smoothly, raising a hand to calm her. "Speaking of blood-traitors, Kirkland... I have heard that you have been fraternising with Mudbloods and half-breeds despite being in the noble house of Slytherin."

It wasn't a question; it was merely an accusation. Arthur said nothing.

"Why would anyone placed in Salazar's house ever wish to mingle with the scum of the rest of the school? Why would you? Answer me correctly, or you will face the wrath of the Heir of Slytherin."

Arthur bit his lip, looking away from Voldemort's snake-like pupils. _Close your mind_, he thought. _Close your mind, you idiot_.

"Not saying anything? We might have to resort to other things then..."

And then suddenly Arthur's life was flashing before his eyes.

* * *

"So this is the plan?" Alfred asked after Mad-Eye Moody had finished speaking.

The ex-Auror nodded. "Decoy Potters, you got that?"

"Yeah," the American replied.

The thirteen guards walked out of the kitchen of the Burrow, heading for a paddock not too far away. Tethered inside were two winged, skeletal horse-like creatures. Francis quickly saddled them.

They were a motley crew, the guards. There was the Italian Feliciano Vargas, looking at the skeletal thestrals with fear in his eyes. There were the other Nations: Francis, Alfred, Kiku, and Madeline. There was Hermione, looking pale but determined, and Ron, tall, red-haired, and freckled. There was also werewolf Remus Lupin, tall and balding Mr. Weasley, the Weasley twins, and half-giant Rubeus Hagrid. Most of the people assembled had broomsticks in their hands; Hagrid was standing next to a giant motorcycle with a black sidecar attached.

"Everyone partner up according to the plan," Lupin said quietly. One of the twins went to his side; the other stood by Mr. Weasley. Ron and Hermione mounted their thestral. Francis hopped on the other thestral and held out a hand for Madeline. Alfred and Kiku stood next to each other; Hagrid got on the motorcycle; Moody and Feliciano mounted their brooms.

"Disillusionment Charms, on the count of three," Moody said. "One, two, THREE."

Everyone seemed to waver and shimmer until they were invisible.

"We take off at the all-clear," Mr. Weasley said. He had barely finished speaking when green sparks appeared amid the clouds, sparkling like fireworks. The air around the guard began to waver and ripple; there came the distinct sound of a motorcycle engine starting; they were off.

* * *

"Brother, please. I do not wish to do this. None of us do."

Arthur regained consciousness underneath the drawing room table. The Death Eaters seemed to have forgotten him. He could hear two of them arguing not too far off and he listened in as well as he could.

"Sister, it's the Dark Lord's orders," Russian Ivan Braginski said solemnly. "You know you have to follow them or he'll kill you."

"Oh brother, don't you know? We're attacking our own classmates!" _The speaker sounded like Ukrainian Yekaterina Braginskaya_, Arthur thought.

There was a pause. "You have barely ever had contact with those classmates on my order, Kat," Ivan said quietly. "How is attacking them going to affect you?"

"They're still our classmates," she replied petulantly.

"That's not the worst of it," a third voice spoke up, and Arthur realised with a jolt that it was Belarusian Nataliya Arlovskaya, Alfred's secret sweetheart. "We're supposed to take Kirkland along with us."

Stunned silence permeated the room. Arthur blinked in horror. They were going to take him along with them to attack his friends. Why?

"But... how?" Yekaterina asked.

"The Imperious Curse," Ivan replied.

Fear coursed through Arthur's veins.


	2. The Seven Potters

**Part II**

Arthur knew nothing. His mind was blissfully blank yet only one thing seemed to register in there.

He had to go with the Death Eaters on their mission to capture Harry Potter.

He didn't know why, only that he had to. Which was why he was standing, green eyes empty, with the Warsaw Pact. They were all staring at him as he mounted his broom, the very image of a loyal Death Eater.

Voldemort had made Draco Malfoy lend him his wand for this and the hawthorn wand was now sitting in the folds of his Death Eater robes. He was also wearing a hood.

"Like, what is he, like, doing with us?" Polish Feliks Łukasiewcz asked. "Isn't he, like, totally on Harry's side?"

"Imperious Curse, Feliks," Lithuanian Toris Lorinatis said quietly, glancing ruefully at Nataliya, who was looking rather gloomy.

"I totally knew that," Feliks muttered. All around the Warsaw Pact, the other Death Eaters were preparing to take flight. Not just Death Eaters, though – there were several other people looking as blank-faced as Arthur.

Estonian Eduard Von Bock gloomily looked at his wand. "I don't want to do this," he said softly.

"None of us do," Hungarian Elisabeta Héderváry replied.

Voldemort took flight; the rest of the Death Eaters rose like a phalanx of black swans.

* * *

"What are you all doing here?" green-eyed and bespectacled Harry Potter asked as they all piled inside his kitchen.

"Taking you to the Burrow, of course!" Alfred exclaimed with a grin.

"Harry, guess what?" Hermione asked, pointing to Lupin, who sheepishly held out a hand. Harry's jaw dropped.

"You got married!" he exclaimed, gaping at the ring. "To Tonks, I suppose? Where is she?"

"Tied down at the Ministry with Kingsley," Mr. Weasley replied. "The whole O'Brian assassination attempt..."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I read about that." He shot a look at Kiku, who merely pulled a half-smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Let's get going," snapped Moody suddenly. "Right, Harry, as Dedalus probably told you, we had to scrap plan A. Thickenesse posed a danger to us when he was promoted and we considered scrapping back then – but then it became definite that we had to abandon that plan completely when he went over."

"He's made it an imprisonable offence to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey there, or Apparate in or out," Lupin pitched in. "All done in the name of your protection, to prevent Voldemort from getting at you."

"Absolutely pointless, because your mother's charm does that already," Moody finished. "What he's really done is to stop you from getting out of here safely. Now our second problem is that you're still underage, which means that you still have the Trace on you."

"The what?" Harry echoed.

"The Trace!" snapped Moody impatiently. "The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens! It's how the Ministry finds out about underage magic. If you – or anyone around you – cast a spell to get you out, Thickenesse will know and so will the Death Eaters. We can't wait for it to break because once you turn seventeen the protection your mum gave you will be lost."

"So what are we going to do?" Harry asked.

"We're going to be using the means of transport left," Lupin answered. "They're the ones that the Trace can't detect because we don't need to cast spells to use them: brooms, thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike."

"This charm that your mother gave you will break only under two conditions," Moody continued. "First, when you come of age. Second, when you no longer call this place home. You and your aunt and uncle are going separate ways tonight, fully understanding that you're never going to live together again, right?" Harry nodded at that.

"So this time, when you leave there will be no going back and the charm will break the moment you get outside its range. We're choosing to break it early, because once you turn seventeen You-Know-Who will come and seize you. There's one advantage to this plan – we've leaked a false trail back to the Ministry and they think you're not leaving until the thirtieth. But this is You-Know-Who we're dealing with, so he might be keeping a couple Death Eaters in this general area just in case. We've given several houses every protection we can throw at them – they're all houses with some sort of connection to the Order, somewhere where you might hide. You're going to Tonks's parents' house and from there you can use a Portkey to get to the Burrow. Any questions?"

"Er... I have one," Harry replied. "Maybe they don't know which house we're going to... but won't it become obvious once fourteen of us head off towards Tonks's parents'?"

"That's because he forgot to mention the key point to this plan," Alfred cut in, a grin on his face.

"Not all of us are going with you," Moody finished. "There will be seven Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each with a different companion heading towards a different safe house."

* * *

"Where are they supposed to be?" Prussian Gilbert Beilschmidt demanded astride his broomstick. They were hovering above Little Whinging, hidden in the clouds high above the houses.

"Somewhere down there," Nataliya replied tonelessly. "Preparing to take flight."

Arthur sighed, still feeling nothing. His hands unconsciously gripped the broom handle tighter.

_

* * *

It was odd being Harry_, Kiku thought as he donned a pair of glasses. He, Feliciano, Madeline, Ron, George, and Fred had all taken Polyjuice Potion and transformed into Harry. The first thing that was odd was that his vision was suddenly horrible. He had groped around for the sack with the glasses for a moment before Hermione handed him a pair with what was probably an amused look on her face.

Now they were all heading outside to take off. Harry – the real one – looked rather unhappy at the prospect of being squeezed into the black sidecar attached to Hagrid's flying motorbike, and Kiku couldn't help but smirk as he mounted his broom next to Alfred.

"We thought that the Death Eaters will expect you to be on a broom," Moody said as he grabbed his own broom and stumped over to where a rather scared-looking Harry stood waving his wand as if it were a white flag. "Snape's had plenty of time to tell them everything about you he's never mentioned before, so if we do run into Death Eaters, they'll probably pick one of the Potters that look at home on a broomstick. We've got three minutes before we've got to go."

Everyone else were mounting brooms and thestrals as well; Harry glumly got into the sidecar.

"Good luck, everyone," shouted Moody as Hagrid started the motorbike. "See you all in about an hour at the Burrow. On three – one, two, THREE."

Kiku and Alfred rose into the air, climbing higher and higher. Kiku let the wind rush through his hair, a little smile on his face. They were set to go to their flat in London and Alfred turned his broom in that direction –

Suddenly they were surrounded by hooded figures, and that happy little bubble within Kiku popped.

* * *

Arthur saw the Order members rise and suddenly something in his mind told him that he should attack them. _Attack the ones that don't look like Potter; capture Potter_, the voice said.

But there were seven to choose from...

He looked around, finally selecting the one with Alfred. Following them for a moment, he realised they were heading towards London. The Potter he was chasing sent several Stunning Spells at him and he dodged them, firing curses back at the two of them.

Suddenly they were going into a complicated series of dives and rolls and Arthur found his hood flying back on their last feint. They rose back upright again; the Potter looked at him with shock etched across his features.

Arthur raised the hawthorn wand. "_Avada Kedavra_!" he screamed, aiming a Killing Curse at Alfred.

* * *

Kiku nearly screamed when the spells broke out on all sides – green, green, green flashing all over. Alfred dived and Kiku hastily followed him, trying to aim spells as he went.

Chaos rang throughout the air as they tried to escape the Death Eaters. Up ahead, Alfred flung himself into several dives and rolls that were supposed to deter someone else from chasing him; Kiku followed suit. They were being chased by three Death Eaters; the one closest was aiming curses at him while adeptly avoiding Kiku's Stunners.

Alfred went into a dive; Kiku followed suit and the two of them feinted at the last possible moment. Unfortunately, the Death Eater seemed to anticipate it and he pulled up sharply – his hood fell back – Kiku gasped in horror.

It was Arthur.

"Arthur!" he cried, wanting to pull back and face Arthur. "Arthur, what are you doing here?"

But he suddenly saw how blank Arthur's face was.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" the Imperioused Arthur screamed, and Alfred dodged the Killing Curse that had been aimed at him. Kiku screamed.

"Arthur! What are you doing? Why are you doing this?" he gasped, forgetting for a moment that he didn't look like Kiku, that he looked like Harry. He pulled his broom to a stop, turning around to face Arthur.

"Kiku – I meant Harry! Come on!" Alfred screamed from up ahead. "We're almost to London!"

"Arthur," Kiku whispered. "I'm so sorry about this, Arthur-san... _Stupefy_!"

The Stunning Spell hit Arthur full in the chest and he slumped, falling from his broom down into the murky depths of clouds below.

* * *

"That was Arthur?" Alfred screamed as they rushed into the empty apartment, looking for the Portkey. They had gotten off relatively easy compared to the others; the other Death Eaters seemed to reckon that Harry wouldn't fly with Alfred into London. "But... how?"

"Imperious Curse," Kiku replied tersely as they tossed their broomsticks into their room and grabbed the fish-shaped cushion that had now become a Portkey. It glowed blue, there was a jerk at their navels, and then they were flying through nothingness.

* * *

Arthur fell through the air, regaining conscious control of his mind as he fell.

_Why am I falling? Why am I wearing these robes?_ He thought, confused.

He slammed hard into a concrete path; he felt the pain and heard the cracks of bones breaking – but only for a second.

He knew no more after that.


	3. In Memoriam

**Part III**

Kiku's feet slammed into hard ground. There was a cry from nearby and suddenly Ginny Weasley was there, red hair flying like curtains of flame as she ran towards him, helping him up.

"You two arrived on time, thank goodness!" she gasped to Alfred who was already standing with a worried look on his face.

"What, have the others been delayed? I mean…" Alfred trailed off as Lupin came charging towards them, face deathly pale and wand drawn.

"Alfred! What was the seventh creature we covered in my class?" he demanded.

"The Kappa, sir!" Alfred exclaimed.

Lupin turned to Kiku. "And who was the first person in my class able to ward off a Dementor?" he asked.

Kiku gasped, a lump rising in his throat. He knew that answer. "A-Arthur K-Kirkland… and his Patronus was a lion…"

Ginny took the opportunity to tell them the bad news. "Someone seemed to have told the Death Eaters that we were moving Harry tonight, because there –" she pointed to an empty tomato crate, "– is Mad-Eye and Feliciano's Portkey. They missed theirs. And there –" she pointed to an ancient set of trainers, "– is Fred and Dad's."

"We were waylaid," Alfred replied simply as Lupin stormed back up to the house.

"I could tell as much," Ginny replied sourly. "Harry and Hagrid arrived all right, and then Lupin and George – George's in a bad way, come and see."

She led them back to the house as well. Inside the living room, Mrs. Weasley was tending to George, who was bleeding profusely. Kiku looked closer and reeled away in horror – one of George's ears was missing.

"Will George be okay?" Harry was asking, looking down at the twin's limp form.

"I think so," Lupin replied as Mrs. Weasley tried to staunch the bleeding; Ginny ran over to help. "But there's no chance of replacing his ear... not when it's been cursed off..."

Kiku walked into the kitchen, taking a seat there. Alfred followed him.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Alfred asked with a sigh. "I wish I could have saved his ear."

Kiku said nothing, only staring at a spot on the wall.

"I mean, I'm a hero! But there are always so many things that are totally out of my control," Alfred lamented, lapsing into a melancholy monologue. Kiku tuned him out in his attempt to drown out the rest of the world until only he and his shame remained.

He had killed Arthur; there was no question about it. No one could have fallen that far and survived. Not even Arthur.

He had killed the man he loved, and in doing so, he shamed himself.

"Kiku, are you okay?" Kiku came back to earth when Alfred's voice cut through his brooding. "You're crying."

"Shouldn't I?" the Japanese demanded, tears slipping down his cheeks.

Suddenly Ron and Hermione burst into the kitchen as well. "Bloody hell, Lupin's got it in for us," Ron muttered, leaning heavily on the counter.

"Well, in case you forgot, Ron, we were attacked by Death Eaters!" Hermione screeched shrilly. "I think he has perfect excuse to be this anxious!" She then saw Alfred and Kiku sitting there silently. "No one else came back?" she asked. "Other than Harry, Hagrid, George, and Lupin?"

Alfred shook his head. "Naw, but we saw Arthur."

"Don't talk about him!" Kiku wailed suddenly. "Please!"

Hermione looked alarmed. "Kiku, what's wrong? How did the two of you see Arthur?"

"He was with the Death Eaters," Alfred replied as Hermione flung her arms around the crying Japanese man. "They put him under the Imperious Curse."

"I killed him!" Kiku sobbed, soaking Hermione's blouse with tears. "I Stunned him and he fell from his broom and he's probably broken every bone in his body!"

"Shhh, shhh," Hermione whispered comfortingly. "Don't you remember? He's a Nation. He'll come back."

"But will he forgive me for killing him?"

Hermione had no answer for that.

* * *

Arthur was drowning, or at least that was what it felt like.

He was sinking, sinking, unable to breathe...

Light. There was light; it was wavering, ripping, tantalisingly dancing above him...

He was reaching for the light above, but it was just so far away...

And he was so tired, too...

* * *

Mr. Weasley and Fred came running into the kitchen moments later, looking haggard and near hysterics. Bill and Fleur, arrived back from Gringotts, accompanied them.

"Mon dieu!" Fleur cried at George's ghastly wound, clapping her hands to her mouth. Bill held her close; Kiku looked away again.

Fred was gaping at his twin. Mrs. Weasley had staunched the bleeding by now and she was gently stroking his hand, worry evident in her eyes.

The door to the kitchen burst open once more and Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks ran in wearing identical windswept and harried looks.

"We heard something about the Death Eaters attacking..." Tonks gasped, falling into Lupin's arms. "We thought they had taken the false bait..."

"Someone let slip the date," Mr. Weasley replied, "And Francis, Madeline, Mad-Eye, and Feliciano are not back yet."

George suddenly stirred. "How do you feel, Georgie?" Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly.

"Saintlike," he replied, touching the side of his head.

"What's wrong with him?" Fred croaked. "Is his mind affected?"

"Saintlike," George repeated. "I'm holy, you see? _Holey_, geddit?"

Alfred stifled a snort in his arm. Kiku heaved a sigh. Mrs. Weasley sobbed even harder.

But Fred was looking a bit less pale. "Pathetic, George! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for _holey_?"

Kiku abruptly left the room, feeling as if it would be better to leave George with his family. Alfred left with him, and moments later Harry and Ginny walked out hand-in-hand as well.

Kiku hated them for that, hated Harry for having someone to hold his hand, hated Ginny for having someone to hold and cry with. Outside, Ron and Hermione were standing together a little ways away from Hagrid, who was looking out into the night sky with worry evident in his eyes. Lupin and Tonks joined them, and then Kingsley came outside as well, pacing the ground and looking up at the sky at every turn. It only took a few more minutes before Kiku felt stifled by the amount of couples outside and he ran around to the other side of the house, wanting to be alone.

"Arthur," he sobbed, tears rolling down his cheeks for the blonde and green-eyed man. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I don't think you'll ever forgive me for this..." He choked down the three words that he really wanted to say. "Please..."

* * *

Was there someone to live for? Someone worth the struggle up to the surface?

Arthur didn't know. He drifted along in the sea of dreams, letting Death caress him with soft white hands.

"Come with me, England... embark on the last greatest adventure..."

"No, Arthur!"

_That voice_, Arthur thought. _That voice was so familiar_.

"Arthur, I'm so sorry, so sorry," the voice called, sounding like a certain Japanese boy who had once been his friend. "Come back, all right? Dozo?"

Maybe there was someone to live for after all.

* * *

There was a general commotion around the other side of the house and Kiku emerged from his reverie.

"Francis! Madeline!" Fleur's voice called, and Kiku retraced his steps to go see Francis and Madeline. "Dieu merci, vous deux sont sûrs!"

A thestral had landed in the yard and there was Francis, helping Madeline down from the thestral. He hugged Alfred briefly before turning to look at Mr. Weasley, sadness evident in his blue eyes.

"Mad-Eye's dead."

Shocked silence rang through the crowd. Kiku's mouth fell open. _It couldn't be, it couldn't be_, he thought furiously.

"What about Feli-kun?" he asked after a moment.

"Feliciano? He Disapparated," Francis replied, a little bit of hardness in his tone. "It happened when we broke out of the circle – we were both going south, so we were rather close by. Feliciano panicked, because You-Know-Who – he can fly – went straight for them. Feliciano conjured a white flag from his wand, waved it, and then Disapparated. So You-Know-Who's curse hit Mad-Eye in the face and he fell backward off his broom..."

Kiku sobbed; he could picture it perfectly in his mind – Mad-Eye Moody, falling like Arthur and Dumbledore, hitting the ground spread-eagled, his body broken...

"There was nothing we could do," Madeline whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "We had half a dozen of them on our own tail... and You-Know-Who was chasing us for a moment there, too, but he suddenly disappeared."

"Of course you couldn't have done anything," Lupin whispered.

* * *

Arthur fought for life, trying to surface, trying to reach the light.

He woke up to darkness and wondered if death would have been better. There was a dull ache in his body from every place where bones had been broken – not to mention a pain in his chest from... from a fatality.

Who died?

"Welcome back," Ollivander whispered, his voice like a single reed blowing in the wind.

* * *

"To Mad-Eye," Bill said solemnly, sending glasses of firewhisky in all directions.

"Mad-Eye," everyone echoed.

"To Arthur," Kiku added. They all looked at him.

"What?" Francis demanded, eyes wide.

"Arthur's dead," Alfred sobbed, his voice like a lament.

"How do you know?" Francis exclaimed, cerulean eyes sombre.

Kiku shook his head. "He was one of the Imperioused people on the Death Eater side. I Stunned him and he fell..." His voice broke.

"To Arthur," the rest of the room replied. Silence followed as everyone drank to the two of them.

Kiku drained his glass in one gulp, feeling warmth seep through him.

"So Feliciano disappeared?" Lupin asked after a moment. Everyone tensed, especially the other Nations.

"Yes, but he couldn't have betrayed us," Francis said firmly. "Anyone who knows Feliciano knows that he's just a coward, not a collaborator."

"Says you," Kiku muttered under his breath. Francis shot him a 'don't you dare argue with me' look.

"They seemed to be expecting us, non?" the Frenchman continued. "But they didn't seem to know that there was going to be seven Harrys, and it was Feliciano who suggested that in the first place. So if he had been the one to tell the Death Eaters, why wouldn't he have told them the key point? So I think he just panicked, as he understandably would."

"Well, of course, he's Feliciano," Kiku pointed out. "I mean... Moody had to convince him to come along with us... and then Voldemort went straight for them."

"Like I said, Feliciano's not exactly the bravest soldier in the battalion," finished Francis, leaning his head on Madeline's shoulder.

"Yes, and You-Know-Who seemed to have acted as Mad-Eye expected," sniffed Tonks. "Mad-Eye said he'd expect the real Harry to be with the most skilled Aurors or Nations – I mention the Nations, because that Ivan Braginski's had plenty of time to tell him about the skills you Nations have with magic."

"Well, that explains why after Feliciano gave the game away he chased us for a bit," Madeline said with a sniffle. "But what made him suddenly disappear?"

"Harry acted too kindly to Stan Shunpike," Lupin replied, with only the tiniest bit of hardness to his voice.

"Still, eet does not explain 'ow zey knew we were moving 'Arry tonight," Fleur interjected, her voice snappish. "Somebody must 'ave been careless et slipped ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zem knowing ze date but not ze 'ole plan." She glared around at all of them.

"No!" Harry exclaimed after a moment, his voice oddly loud in the silence after Fleur's bit. "I mean... even if someone let something slip, it was an accident! I know they didn't mean to do it; it's not their fault. We've got to trust each other, and I trust all of you. I don't think anyone in this room would sell me to Voldemort."

* * *

Arthur dozed off, trying to ignore the pains all over his body. He woke up to screams once more. For a moment he was content to just keep his eyes closed, pretend that he was sleeping or even dead.

"You told me the problem would be solved by using another's wand!"

It was Voldemort, and he was screaming at Ollivander. Arthur squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to move and betray the fact that he was alive.

Ollivander was screaming as well, and Arthur was sorely tempted to stick his fingers in his ears to drown out the sound.

"No! No! I beg you, I beg you..."

"You lied to Lord Voldemort, Ollivander!"

"I did not, I swear I did not!"

"You sought to help Potter, to help him escape me!"

"I swear I did not! I believed a different wand would work..."

There was a dreadful silence in which only Ollivander's pants and whimpers of pain could be heard, magnified by the stone.

"Explain, then, what happened," Voldemort hissed, voice deadly and horrible, "Lucius's wand is destroyed!"

"I cannot understand," pleaded Ollivander. "The connection exists... only between your two wands..."

"_Lies_!" screeched Voldemort, flying into a rage once more.

"Please!" Ollivander begged. "Please, I beg you..."

His words were drowned out in screams.


	4. The Will of Albus Dumbledore

**Part IV**

Bill and Fleur's wedding was approaching quickly. The Nations soon found themselves spending a lot of time at the Burrow, helping them with wedding preparations.

"This is awful," Alfred grumbled as he and Kiku mucked out the chicken coop once more. "I didn't know weddings took this much effort…"

Kiku said nothing, merely watching Madeline and Mrs. Weasley air out the laundry not too far away.

"I mean… a lot of my cousins get hitched and stuff, but their weddings weren't this hard to prepare and they were usually in churches and stuff anyways…"

Kiku still said nothing.

Later on after lunch and a change into clean clothes, Kiku found himself roped into sorting out wedding presents.

"So many," Ron groaned as he picked up a parcel with a sour look on his face.

_That_, thought the Japanese, _just about summed up my feelings as well_.

When he stumped downstairs into the living room where the others were congregated to Floo back to their apartment, he had the resigned air of a medieval monk. Recording wedding presents was dull work.

"The Delacours are coming tomorrow," Francis informed him as Alfred stuck his hand in their bag of Floo powder. "We're expected back to welcome them."

"Brilliant," Kiku grumped.

"Mon dieu, you sound like Ar–" Francis caught himself before he finished the sentence. Kiku raised an eyebrow, still saying nothing.

* * *

"Tell me the secret to your immortality," Voldemort demanded. He wasn't beating around the bush this time. "Tell me how you became a Nation."

Arthur glared up at him, resolutely refusing to speak.

They tortured him with the Cruciatus Curse for so long that he half-wondered why he hadn't gone insane.

* * *

The Delacours were very pleasant guests and by the end of their first day of visit, Kiku was feeling less resentful towards them.

They and Francis immediately took to each other like a house on fire, jabbering away in French with Madeline occasionally putting in her two cents' worth. Monsieur Delacour was portly and jovial, Madame Delacour was tall and regal, and Gabrielle Delacour was a little version of Fleur.

"Do you know Aurélie Bonnefois and Mabel Clouseau?" Francis asked Gabrielle as they finished colour coordinating the favours. "They attend Beauxbâtons; they're three years older than you."

"Un peu," Gabrielle replied. "Zey are razzer populaire aux Beauxbâtons."

"I should think so; they're related to me," Francis remarked, puffing out his chest slightly. Kiku had a sudden urge to whack him with a copy of _Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests_.

_The wedding was now only a day away_, he realised later at night when he was sprawled out over his bed looking at the stars outside his window and listening to Alfred's snores in the twin bed nearby. Tomorrow would be Harry's seventeenth birthday. And then it would be the wedding – and once the wedding was over, he could go back to worrying himself sick over Arthur.

_Harry, Ron, and Hermione were acting a bit secretive_, he also remembered. They were always trying to meet each other, as if they were plotting something.

He wondered if they were going back to Hogwarts at all this year.

* * *

Arthur woke up from a pain-induced unconsciousness and for a moment, he vaguely wondered why the world was so dark around him.

Was he dead?

But he could still feel the prickly aftershocks of the Cruciatus Curse, and he was still bleeding from where they slashed at him with fire and steel, carving words into his bare back and leaving them there to bleed.

He realised that he was naked from the waist up, and the dungeon was made of cold, unyielding stone. Not exactly the most comfortable place to be, but then again, Voldemort wasn't famous for treating his prisoners well.

He was also dreadfully hungry. Arthur felt that growl in his stomach, that empty gnawing feeling that made him sick at heart. In the darkness, he crawled in one direction until he collided with the stone wall, leaning heavily against it.

His wounds were slowly healing, but he had a premonition that they would leave him with scars – scars written into his back like tattoos, forever marring him.

Hungry, tired, miserable... he missed his friends and his family, the warmth of joy and love and peace...

Arthur curled up in a ball and cried. Partly for himself, partly for the people he lost.

* * *

Harry's seventeenth birthday dinner was interrupted by the arrival of the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour.

Scrimgeour was the former head of the Aurors and he bore a striking resemblance to a lion. He pulled Harry, Ron, and Hermione aside, and then looked down at a sheet of paper.

"I also require a word from Messrs Alfred F. Jones, Kiku Honda, and Arthur Kirkland," he said.

"Artie's not here," Alfred replied. "He got kidnapped –" Francis silenced him before he could continue, but the damage was done.

"Kidnapped?" Scrimgeour repeated, raising an eyebrow. "By whom?"

"By his... parents," Kiku lied hastily, trying to will down the lump in his throat. "Because they... had plans tonight and he forgot about those in favour of Harry's _birthday party_."

"Right," Scrimgeour replied, looking as if he didn't believe them at all. "How may I contact Mr. Kirkland?"

"Through us," Francis cut in. "He's, euh, très reclusive. Doesn't send his owl anywhere, and doesn't like people visiting him. Got it from his parents, voyez."

Scrimgeour raised both eyebrows. "I suppose I'll just have to tell the rest of you to tell him about this. In any case, shall we? I don't want to keep you away from that cake for too long."

The five of them trooped after Scrimgeour into the sitting room, Harry lighting the oil lamps with a flick of his wand. They all took their seats.

"I have questions for all of you, and I think it will be best if we do it individually. I will start with Ronald, if the rest of you will wait upstairs –"

"We're not going anywhere," Harry replied. "You can speak to us all together or not at all." Next to him, Hermione nodded.

"Well, actually, Alfred and I don't mind being questioned separately," Kiku cut in.

"But I wanna hear –" Alfred began, but one serious stare from the Japanese was enough to get him to wait upstairs.

* * *

They had left him bleeding underneath the drawing-room table again.

Arthur lay with his head pressed to the carpet, feeling blood seep out from the reopened wounds in his back. His eyes were closed and his heart thudded against his ribcage like a battering ram.

"Tomorrow we strike," the high, cold voice of Voldemort spoke from somewhere beyond his refuge. "The Ministry will fall into our hands and a new order will begin."

Arthur's heart raced a thousand miles without leaving his chest.

* * *

"I am here, like I was for Mr. Potter and his friends, because of Albus Dumbledore's will."

Kiku found it odd that it took a month for the Ministry to get the contents of Dumbledore's will to them, but he didn't say anything. Scrimgeour had a rather livid look in his amber eyes, and Kiku was sure that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had angered him during their interrogation.

They did hear raised voices, after all.

Next to him Alfred sat nearly bouncing with excitement at having received something from Dumbledore.

Scrimgeour scrutinised them for a moment. "Would you say that you were close to Dumbledore, Mr. Jones?"

"No, not really," Alfred replied. "I mean, Artie was the one –" Kiku shot him a warning look and he clammed up – but once again, it was too late.

"So Mr. Kirkland was close to Dumbledore?" Scrimgeour queried. Alfred gave a tiny nod, looking at Kiku out of the corner of his eyes. "Then why did he single_ you_ out in his will? Like I said previously to Mr. Potter and his friends, Dumbledore made very few personal bequests. The majority of his possessions went to Hogwarts. Why do you think you were chosen?"

"Uh... I dunno," Alfred replied, scratching his head. "I mean, we talked once or twice... and he knew I liked sherbet lemons..."

Scrimgeour gave a dry, humourless laugh before turning his attention to a scroll of parchment. "Herein is the last will and testament of Albus Dumbledore," he said, gesturing to the scroll. "And it says here: '_To Alfred F. Jones, I leave a vial of Fawkes's tears, in the hope that one day he will be a true hero and heal those that are hurting_.'" From a bag, he took out a little vial of clear liquid, passing it to Alfred.

"I'm already a hero," Alfred mumbled as he accepted it. Kiku rolled his eyes.

"Phoenix tears are extremely rare and powerful. I do believe you know their properties, Mr. Jones?"

"Healing powers," Kiku cut in before Alfred could answer. "It's the only known antidote to basilisk poison and it can cure almost every sickness and injury imaginable."

Scrimgeour nodded. "So why do you think Dumbledore would have left you with such a rare and valuable item, Mr. Jones?" he asked, pointedly directing the question at Alfred.

Alfred looked at the vial. "Because he wants me to heal someone, I think," he replied. The name of a certain bushy-browed, green-eyed wizard passed through Kiku's mind unbidden and he blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears from his eyes.

Scrimgeour turned to Kiku. "For you, Mr. Honda, Dumbledore left you his glasses."

Kiku blinked once more; Alfred stifled his sniggers with his hand. Scrimgeour showed no reaction, merely continuing by reading aloud from the will: "'_For Kiku Honda, I leave my glasses, in the hope that he will discover worlds he cannot see otherwise_.'" He paused. "Has Dumbledore ever discussed these 'other worlds' with you?" he asked as he took out the gold-rimmed half-moon spectacles from his bag and handed them to Kiku, who inclined his head as he accepted them.

Kiku shook his head. "Iie, we rarely talked."

"And yet he chose you, out of thousands of past students, to receive these glasses. Why you?"

"I have no idea, sir. I am sorry to not be of any assistance," Kiku replied politely.

"Nah, it's probably because he thinks your eyesight is horrible," Alfred joked. Kiku glared at him.

"We have inspected the glasses and found an unidentifiable charm on them. It does not seem to be of Dumbledore's doing – in fact, it may be that whoever made the glasses had charmed the parts. But the Ministry could not detect anything Dark in these glasses – although the magic used in its making is foreign to us. Has Dumbledore ever mentioned this to you?" He peered intently at Kiku over his own wire-rimmed glasses, but Kiku was intently studying Dumbledore's glasses. After a while, he looked up and shook his head.

"Iie."

Scrimgeour did not seem intent on pressing the question. "Very well, then, now the last object should go to Mr. Arthur Kirkland. But since he is... unavailable at the moment... I suppose one of you will have to give it to him later."

"I'll do it," Kiku said quietly.

"Good. Now the will says... '_For Arthur Kirkland, I leave him the diaries of Odoacer of Germania, in the hope that he may discover more about himself from it_.' These diaries are very old – dating back to Roman times, in fact. Why do you think Dumbledore would have left Arthur these ancient books and told him he might find something about himself in them?"

"Maybe the Germania guy was his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather or something," Alfred replied, shrugging. Scrimgeour said nothing, merely passing Kiku a set of ancient pieces of parchment with runes and other symbols marked all over them. Kiku looked intently at the first page, trying to decode the runes – but to no avail.

Even after Scrimgeour left, Kiku was looking down at the diary.

* * *

Arthur closed his eyes and dreamed.

He dreamed of flying, flying away from his prison, flying through the clouds. He was wild and free, like a bird.

And then he was landing – not like the landing that had taken his life before – gently, gracefully. He landed in front of a house. A big house all lit up and happy.

The door was open and he walked into a warmly-lit entryway. Somehow it gave off a feeling of familiarity, and he did not need to think; his feet carried him of their own accord.

Down, down passageways all lit with brightly glowing lights. Down, down empty corridors, walking with some unknown purpose.

Arthur entered a study, a study with a warm red glow. Books lined the walls up to the cathedral ceiling. A handsome mahogany desk stood in the middle, with a big red armchair behind it. There was a cup of hot tea sitting on the desk, and a book – _The Tales of Beedle the Bard _– sitting there ready for him.

He sat down in the chair, opening the book. There came a noise. He closed the book and listened.

Laughter, childish laughter. It reminded him of Peter's squeals of joy when his brother had been a toddler. Boisterous and mirthful, ringing with the innocence of childhood... the laughter filled the air and Arthur felt a smile creep onto his face.

A little figure was suddenly silhouetted in the light from the doorway. "Papa!" she squealed, running towards him. She had slightly messy dark hair and thick eyebrows, but her eyes were a striking shade of green that seemed to mirror his own. Her laughter was contagious; Arthur found himself laughing as well as he took her in his arms and swung her up high.

"Papa, papa, I missed you!" she said cutely, smiling widely with dimpled cheeks.

Arthur only laughed, setting her in his lap so that she could see the book on his desk. "Would you like me to read to you?" he asked. She nodded happily, kicking her little feet slightly.

Arthur began to read 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' to her, but halfway through he paused, seeing someone in the doorway.

Kiku stood there, wearing a dark blue kimono, a little smile on his face.

* * *

The wedding was supposed to begin in the afternoon, but the four of them were supposed to be there in the morning to help with the final details.

"Stupid dress robes," Alfred grumbled. He had been forced into a set of dark red dress robes by Mrs. Weasley at wand point; he was originally going to wear his bomber jacket to the wedding. Kiku and Francis were in dress robes as well – Kiku's were dark blue and Francis's were dark green. Harry was also there, disguised as a red-haired Muggle boy from the nearby village.

"You and me both," Fred replied, tugging hatefully at the collar of his own robes. "When I get married, I'm not bothering with this rubbish. You can all wear whatever the hell you like and I'll put a full Body-Bind Curse on Mum until it's over."

"Well, she honestly wasn't that bad this morning," George added. "Cried a bit about Percy, but who cares about that pompous git anyway?"

The guests arrived a little after three in the afternoon. Fred managed to escort a pair of pretty French girls into the pavilion where the wedding was to be held; George had to deal with a couple of middle-aged witches; Ron took care of an old wizard named Perkins; Harry escorted in a deaf old couple.

"Ciao, Kiku," said a quiet voice. Kiku smiled to see Feliciano Vargas and his German boyfriend Ludwig Beilschmidt at the front of the queue now forming. "Sorry about that other night, ve..."

"It's okay," Kiku replied. "And really, it's not me you should be apologising to." He led the two of them to their seats.

"Are the others coming?" Ludwig asked. Kiku shrugged.

"I didn't look at the guest list, forgive me."

Ludwig nodded and took his seat. Moments later Alfred walked by with Spaniard Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and Feliciano's older brother Lovino. Lovino was calling Alfred a 'hamburger bastard' while Antonio nonchalantly tossed a tomato from hand to hand.

On his way back out of the marquee, Kiku passed by Francis who was escorting the venerable Chinese sorcerer Yao Wang to his seat. Trailing behind him were Mei and Lee; they waved at Kiku. Kiku waved back.

Kiku walked back outside and nearly had to walk back in when he saw who was at the front of the queue.

"Hiya, Alfred!" Peter Kirkland, Arthur's younger brother, was yelling at Alfred who had emerged from the marquee at the same time. Alfred beamed and bounced over to Peter, taking the invitation from Arthur's older brother Liam MacDonald and escorting them into the tent. Arthur's other older brother Arawn Iorwerth was trailing behind slightly, looking rather sombre.

As he directed a couple of distant Weasley relatives to their seats, Kiku tried to get another look at what was left of Arthur's family.

* * *

"The Death Eaters left," Ollivander said feebly, and Arthur heaved a sigh of anything but relief. "They're going to the Ministry."

"They're going to overthrow it, aren't they?" Arthur asked quietly, in a way that wasn't accusatory or defensive – just resigned.

"I'm afraid so," replied Ollivander, and Arthur felt tears appear in his eyes.

Then the pain started.

* * *

Hermione and Madeline came in late, both of them looking very stunning in their dresses. Madeline's was sky blue and she had tied red satin bows in her hair; Hermione's was lilac and her hair was sleek and shiny.

"You look great!" Ron stuttered at Hermione, who smiled. Francis was whispering something in Madeline's ear that made her giggle. Kiku had a sudden urge to run away and be sick.

Everyone took a seat eventually and the wedding started; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked up the aisle followed by Bill and Charlie Weasley – Charlie was Bill's best man. The music, which had been but background noise during most of the proceedings, suddenly swelled as everyone stood up for the bride's entrance.

Fleur walked in on the arm of her bouncing and beaming father. She was arrayed in a simple white dress, with a sparkling tiara on her head and a silvery glow surrounding her. If she had been beautiful before, she was now radiant. Usually that radiance would have made everyone dim in comparison, but today her radiance seemed to beautify everyone it fell on. Ginny and Gabrielle were wearing gold dresses and looking even prettier than usual. Bill, who had been badly scarred due to a run-in with a werewolf months ago, suddenly looked young and whole once more.

The ceremony started as everyone took their seats once more. Kiku sat and stared at the golden balloons fixed above the bride and groom's heads, wishing with all his heart that he was the one standing at the front of the marquee with his hand in Arthur's. A tear rolled down his cheek as he listened to the officiator talk about love and the union of two loving souls. From the looks (and sounds, if Hagrid's trumpeting was of any indication) of it, he wasn't the only teary-eyed audience member.

But he was the only one who cried out of sadness.


	5. Wedding Crashers

**Part V**

The Death Eaters stormed the Ministry in a whirl of fire and black cloaks.

They went to each department, subjecting the heads to the Imperious Curse. Those who resisted were killed.

Two Death Eaters broke off to find Scrimgeour and capture him.

The government coup had begun.

* * *

Night settled in on the reception. The golden pavilion was lit up with Japanese lanterns; moths were swooping in towards the light like little grey pilgrims.

Kiku sat alone at a table. Alfred was dancing with Ginny (he could see Harry glaring at Alfred not too far away) and Hermione was dancing with Ron. Francis and Madeline had long since disappeared off to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what. Kiku shuddered at the very thought and grabbed another floating flute of champagne.

"Oh, hello there, Kiku," someone said from behind him and Kiku turned to see Luna Lovegood, arrayed in bright yellow with a sunflower in her hair. She was in Ginny's year and a Ravenclaw; he had seen her around a lot and knew that she was very eccentric, even in wizarding terms.

"Konbanwa, Luna-chan," he said with a smile. "How are you?"

"Fine, fine," she said dreamily. "If it hadn't been for the Wrackspurts, I'd be wonderful. But may I sit?"

He nodded, and she sat down next to him. "This wedding is nice, isn't it?" he asked, wishing he could think of something better to say.

"Very," she agreed. "But you miss him, don't you?"

Kiku straightened up, staring at her with half-concealed shock. "Miss who?" he asked.

"You know who," she replied gently. "Arthur."

"Please, can you all just stop asking if I miss him? Of course I miss him!" Kiku paused after the outburst. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"No problem," she replied, unfazed by his short tirade. "I'm sure you do; you always seem so sad..."

Kiku nodded, looking at the dancers on the floor. _If only_...

But that was still a big if.

* * *

Of three things Arthur was absolutely certain.

First, he was in pain.

Second, most of that pain – and he was very painfully aware of its potency – was centered around his heart.

Third, he was undoubtedly going to die.

Again.

* * *

"Death Eaters are in the Ministry!"

Kingsley Shacklebolt stared in horror at Gawain Robards, the respected and skilled head of the Aurors. "Death Eaters?" he repeated. Next to him in the office the Muggle Prime Minister was looking pale – very pale indeed.

"They're going to attempt to take the Minister's life," Robards replied, tossing some Floo powder into the fireplace once more. He seemed to direct the title at both the man in the office and Scrimgeour. "I need to go. Keep an eye on Blair, won't you?"

* * *

Knives. It was as if white-hot knives were tearing at his heart, carving out new chambers and passageways. Arthur collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Breathing suddenly turned into a chore – painful and arduous.

"Arthur! Arthur, what... what's going on? Help! Help!" Ollivander was patting him, and by the sound of his voice he was in hysterics. Arthur didn't blame him though; the wandmaker probably never had to deal with this sort of thing.

"The... government... coup..." Arthur choked out, clutching at his chest and feeling tears gather in his eyes from the pain.

Ollivander continued to pat his shoulder with the air of someone who wanted to help but had no idea how to.

* * *

"Where is Harry Potter?" Voldemort spat at Rufus Scrimgeour, who kept his silence with a disapproving stare.

Silence never did anyone well in the presence of an angry Voldemort. Slash, slash. Scrimgeour fell to the ground, bleeding from where Voldemort had cut him with his wand.

"Fool! You dare defy Lord Voldemort? _Where is Harry Potter_?"

Still, silence greeted the Dark Lord. He growled, slashing at Scrimgeour once more.

"You will never know," Scrimgeour snarled. "_Never_!"

Whatever else he could have said was drowned out in screams as Voldemort put him under the Cruciatus Curse.

* * *

"To the Prime Minister of Muggles. Requesting a meeting. Urgent. Kindly respond immediately. Sincerely, Pius Thickenesse, Minister of Magic."

Kingsley frowned at the magical portrait of the froglike man in the corner of the Prime Minister's office.

"Should I, Shacklebolt?" the Muggle Prime Minister asked quietly, his face still very pale.

"He's been put under a curse that lets someone else control him completely," Kingsley replied. "I don't think you should, but you've got no choice."

"Let him through," the Minister said, his voice a bit louder but no less fearful.

* * *

Arthur could feel his heart pound faster and faster as the pain increased. He screamed a scream of terrible agony.

The door opened and Wormtail came stumping in with his wand and his silver hand. "_Silencio_!" he squeaked.

Arthur fell silent mid-scream and he curled on the ground, unable to slow his racing heart, his poor heart that was desperately trying to keep him alive.

* * *

Pius Thickenesse stepped into the office. "What are you doing here, Kingsley?" he demanded as soon as he had dusted himself off on the Axminster carpet.

"Protecting the Prime Minister," Kingsley replied coolly. "On his orders I remain in this office."

Thickenesse's eyes narrowed. "_Stupefy_!" he yelled, pointing his wand at Kingsley, who dodged the Stunner. The Prime Minister jumped to his feet in alarm.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" Thickenesse aimed the curse at the Minister; he ducked it.

"_Impedimenta_!" Kingsley howled, causing Thickenesse to slam against the wall and slide down against it, unconscious. "Come on, Minister, we're taking you somewhere safe."

"Will he be all right?" the Minister asked, gesturing to Thickenesse.

"He will be when he wakes up, but if you stay here your life will be in danger. We must evacuate."

"But... my job...? The people!"

"You can come back after I put protective charms over the office. Right now your life is at stake, not your job, and that's what matters most."

* * *

"You still refuse to speak?" Voldemort hissed at the limp and pained form of Scrimgeour.

The silence that greeted him gave him his answer.

"Very well. _Avada Kedavra_!"

Green light lit up the room as the former Minister of Magic fell to the floor, dead.

* * *

Arthur gasped a silent, horrified gasp as his heart gave one final lurch and then was quite still.

He keeled over, not hearing Ollivander's cry of dismay.

He was dead.

* * *

Kingsley had hurriedly cast every single protective spell he could think of on the Prime Minister's home before he Disapparated to the Ministry.

He arrived in the Atrium in the middle of a fight between the members of the Order that were not at the wedding and the Death Eaters.

"Where is Scrimgeour?" he demanded to the room in general as he deflected and dodged hexes and curses. Gawain Robards suddenly barged out of the golden grilles, duelling Antonin Dolohov.

"Captured by Voldemort!" Robards yelled, turing to Kingsley, but that split-second distraction cost him his life as Dolohov's Killing Curse hit him in the chest.

_That could have only meant one thing_, Kingsley thought as the other Death Eaters Disapparated and he rushed to catch Robards as the former head of the Aurors fell to the ground, unmoving.

The Ministry had fallen. Scrimgeour was dead. And the Death Eaters were heading for the Burrow.

Kingsley raised his wand skyward. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" he bellowed. A silver lynx burst from the tip, streaking off into the night.

* * *

"_The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming_."

The wedding screeched to a standstill at the arrival of Kingsley's Patronus. Kiku jumped up from his seat, drawing his wand. Next to him Luna took out her wand from behind one ear and looked around her, alert. As the silver cat vanished, people blinked, trying to grasp what had happened.

Someone screamed.

Chaos reigned as guests scrambled in all directions; many were Disapparating because the protective enchantments around the Burrow were breaking.

"Kiku! Kiku!" Alfred screamed as the Japanese made his way towards him. "Where are Francis and Madeline?"

"Here!" Madeline screamed from not too far away. Her bows were tied askew and her dress looked rather rumpled, but she had her wand out. Francis was in a similar state.

"Shield Charms!" Alfred yelled as cloaked and masked figures appeared in the midst of the party. "_Protego_!"

"_Protego_!" Kiku, Francis, and Madeline echoed, with the other members of the Order of the Phoenix. Shield Charms expanded on all sides of the guests still at the wedding; the Death Eaters tried to shatter them with their curses.

In what seemed to be ages, the guests all Disapparated one by one. Feliciano shot him a guilty look as he vanished with Ludwig; Kiku kept his wand aloft and the Shield Charm that he cast expanded.

And when the last guest had disappeared, the charms were lowered as duelling broke out.

"Disapparate to Bonnefois Villa!" Francis hissed in Kiku's ear as he dashed by, slashing at one of the Death Eaters with his wand. Purple fire blossomed from the tip of his wand; the Death Eater turned it into a fiery snake that reared up at Francis; Francis charmed the snake and turned it around on the Death Eater.

Kiku turned, stepping into the darkness towards Bonnefois Villa.


	6. The Platform Between

**Part VI**

"Back again, I see," Dumbledore said amusedly and Arthur gaped at him.

"Where am I?" he asked as he clambered to his feet. He seemed to be in a shadowy place that bore a great likeness to King's Cross station.

"Anywhere you'd like," Dumbledore replied, blue eyes twinkling.

"I'm not really _dead_, am I? I hope not," Arthur said with a sigh. "I didn't see you last time I died."

"No, you're not dead," Dumbledore agreed. "Not yet, at least. This is but an intermediary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Whichever… _train_ you take will lead you thus."

"What are you doing here, then?" Arthur asked curiously as Dumbledore started walking; Arthur caught up with the former Headmaster as he sat down on a bench.

"I am waiting," Dumbledore replied enigmatically. "I wait for the close."

"The close," Arthur repeated, choosing to remain standing. "What is that?"

Dumbledore said nothing on that, only smiling brightly. "Let us not talk about that, hm? I would much rather discuss your choice to put yourself in the Death Eaters' torturing hands."

Arthur froze, blinking at Dumbledore. "…Sir?" he asked.

* * *

Bonnefois Villa glowed bright and welcoming in the night as the four Nations appeared on the doorstep "Are we all here?" Francis demanded.

"Oui, but Alfred Splinched himself," Madeline whispered. Kiku turned around to see Alfred, who was clutching at his arm.

"What happened?" Kiku asked, walking over to examine Alfred's arm. A chunk of flesh was missing from his right forearm as if someone had scooped it right off of him. He looked away, inwardly retching.

"Vite, back to the house then," Francis replied. "Maman has dittany."

He took out a key from the inside of his robes and unlocked the door. Kiku raised an eyebrow.

"Couldn't you have done _Alohomora_?" he asked.

"Non, Maman and Papa put charms on this house that only admit people with this key." Francis slipped it back into his robes and pushed the door open. "C'est one of Papa's ideas."

They rushed Alfred to the living room and Francis quickly Summoned some essence of dittany. Kiku grabbed it and started tending to Alfred.

"When will it be safe for us to return?" he asked as he staunched the bleeding with some bandages that Francis had Summoned as well. "Return to London, I mean."

"We'll stay the night here," Francis replied. "Maman and Papa are in Paris, and they seem to have taken Pierre with them. Our house-elf," he added, at the confused looks that Madeline and Kiku gave him.

"So basically you've the house to yourself," Alfred mumbled as Kiku began dabbing at the wound with some cloth soaked in dittany. "Ow! Kiku! That hurt!"

"Sorry," Kiku mumbled. "But it's supposed to sting, you know."

"Where is your little sister?" Madeline suddenly asked. "At Beauxbâtons?"

"No, actually she's in Italy," Francis replied. "With Mabel as well… Mabel's visiting Feliciano. He's apparently her half-brother."

There was a long, stunned silence, punctuated only Alfred's sniffles at the pain of Splinching himself.

* * *

Dumbledore put up a hand, still smiling. "I am proud of you, like a teacher would be proud of his student. You have demonstrated a bravery that many people in Slytherin House do not possess. By offering yourself up to the Death Eaters in order to save your friend is selfless indeed. Despite being in Slytherin, you showed tremendous Gryffindor bravery that night. You have learned to blur the House lines."

Arthur smiled. "I hope you're not thinking that the Hat Sorted too soon?"

"Oh, no, of course not. Not for you, that is. For Mr. Braginski, I fear that is the case."

"Well, why _did_ the Sorting Hat place him in Hufflepuff?"

"The Hat told me that Ivan Braginski was very Slytherin from the start, but he also wished for warmth and happiness because of his background." At Arthur's stunned look, Dumbledore chuckled. "Has he never told you? All Dark Lords have had dark stories of their past. Ivan's is no different. He was poor, hungry, and cold – ever since those days, he has retained a love for sunflowers and warmth. The Hat thought that by placing him in Hufflepuff – surrounding him by the kindest and most hardworking people Hogwarts could teach – Braginski might change his ways and we could avoid the Death Eaters gaining another dangerous ally."

"But the Hat was wrong," Arthur breathed.

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "Yes, the Hat underestimated Ivan Braginski."

* * *

"Brother, where does the Dark Lord go when he is not here? Has he told you?" Nataliya asked Ivan as they sat facing each other in their private sitting room. Ivan was admiring a sunflower; Nataliya was knitting him yet another scarf.

"Abroad," Ivan said vaguely. "He goes to many places… searching for things. He asked me where some wandmaker lived… Nat, have you ever heard of Gregorovitch?"

"Nyet…" Nataliya trailed off, frowning. "Wait… I think Andon was talking about him once. Said that he got his wand from Gregorovitch."

"So he's a wandmaker?" Ivan asked interestedly. "But the Dark Lord already has Ollivander!"

"Well, I don't think he's particularly happy with Ollivander, you know," Nataliya paused in her knitting to look up at Ivan. Her brother's eyebrows were furrowed in thought. "It makes me think that… he's looking for Gregorovitch for something completely different."

"Gregorovitch…" Ivan sighed after a moment. "Why must the Dark Lord be so mysterious with me?" he asked after a moment. "I am one of his most trusted… most loyal…"

Nataliya shook her head. "He doesn't trust me and he knows we are brother and sister."

"Da… I know that." Ivan trailed off into silence as the fire in the grate not too far away died into glowing green embers.

* * *

"Sir… I have a question," Arthur said suddenly, right as the thought came to his mind. "Why are all the Nations attending Hogwarts? Francis told me that his name had been down for Beauxbâtons… and Ivan said he was about to go to Durmstrang…"

Dumbledore sighed. "You will know in time, Arthur. It is not my job to tell you; it is Odoacer of Germania's."

"What?" Arthur asked, frowning slightly. "Wh… what do you mean?"

"I left you his diaries in my will. That answer will be provided there."

Arthur wasn't satisfied with that answer but he nodded nonetheless. "Who's… keeping them for me?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Kiku Honda," he replied simply. Arthur did a sharp intake of breath – his eyes stung with tears.

"He's alright?" he asked. Thinking about Kiku hurt… ever since that night when he had attacked him under the Imperious Curse, thinking the other to be Harry… how he knew that that particular Harry had been Kiku under Polyjuice Potion, he did not know for sure. It was just one of those hunches.

"Yes, but he thinks of you a lot. It's rather obvious, if I must say so myself."

Arthur sighed and looked away. "How can you tell?" he asked

"I have gone through the exact same thing."

* * *

Kiku spent the night unable to sleep. With a little sigh, he walked out to the balcony in his bedroom dressed in his nightclothes and a yukata lightly tied around his waist. He looked up at the moon shining in the sky; its reflection shimmered in the Baie des Anges not too far away.

Were they safe when they went back to Britain tomorrow? Would all their protective enchantments have been broken and the Death Eaters waiting for them? He started to worry, pacing the balcony uneasily.

Where was Arthur? Was he all right? He clung onto the hope that Arthur had come back to life after the fall, and maybe he somehow forgot that Kiku had attacked him.

"Can't sleep?" Kiku looked up to see Francis sitting on the railing of his own balcony. He nodded.

"I've just… been worrying. About the others." He wondered if Francis knew how dangerous it was to sit on the railing; they were invented for a _reason_, after all.

"Of course," Francis sighed. "It's just… so… I mean… they're bound to start rounding up Muggle-borns soon. And then Alfred's life is in danger."

"Same for Im Yong-Soo … and Matthew Williams …" Kiku's voice trailed off. Arthur wouldn't be targeted; his siblings were magical, too. "What about Madeline?" he asked.

"She's half-blood," Francis replied. "She was raised by a couple who took her in after her parents vanished."

"They just… disappeared?" Kiku was intrigued. "That was what happened to me, too."

Francis looked very concerned. "That's… odd. A lot of the others - Ludwig and Gilbert, Antonio, and even Arthur – don't have parents. Or at least they had parents but they died while their children were young. Sometimes I wonder how Alfred and I still have our parents around."

"Arthur is an orphan, too?" Kiku asked, clapping a hand to his mouth. "What about Feliciano?"

"Feliciano and Lovino's parents also died and they were raised by their grand-père for a few years. And then their grand-père disappeared, too. Just like Madeline's parents." Francis shrugged. "I don't know exactly what happened to Arthur's parents but his siblings were all he had."

"Please don't talk about him using the past…" A tear escaped Kiku's lashes. "I don't want him to be dead…"

* * *

"You did?" Arthur gaped at the former Headmaster who merely nodded, a single tear appearing in his eye.

"We were young and he was one of my closest friends… I did not know if he liked me back, so I did nothing." Dumbledore sighed. "I pined away for him. Even now, I still wonder if things could have been different between us."

Arthur looked away, suddenly unable to look at the amount of emotion clouding Dumbledore's face.

"This is why I was glad when I heard that Kiku confessed to you. The poor boy didn't deserve to nurse the pangs of a broken heart. I know, because I suffered from it every day."

Arthur looked back at him with a little smile.

* * *

Nataliya walked down to the cellar to bring Ollivander and Arthur some food.

"Thank you," the emaciated wandmaker mumbled as she set the platter down in front of him.

"No problem. Where is Arthur?"

Ollivander merely shook his head. "Gone," he said after a moment, gesturing to the corpse of said wizard lying not too far away.

Nataliya crept towards Arthur, turning him over. His eyes were closed and he seemed to have died with an expression of pain on his face. She sighed and set him down facing the ceiling. "He's not dead yet," she said after a moment. "He'll come back."

Ollivander nodded. "I saw him come back once."

The Belarusian girl smiled a little. "Tell me when he comes back," she said quietly, slipping Ollivander something that felt like a Galleon. "This is a fake contact Galleon; I filched it from Malfoy and modified it so that only we can contact each other."

The wandmaker smiled and hid the Galleon. "I will. Thank you."

She left the room like a silvery apparition of hope.

* * *

"Are you ready to leave?" Dumbledore asked Arthur.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I think," Arthur said quietly. "Which is not at all." He didn't want to return to the dungeon and to torture. He didn't want to wake up to the feelings of pain and hunger.

But he had to, because there were other things worth living for.

"Good. Unreadiness makes you all the more ready." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled enigmatically as he said that; Arthur merely raised an eyebrow.

White fog began swirling around them. Arthur raised his hand in farewell; Dumbledore did the same.

The old wizard's fingertips were the last Arthur saw of him before his eyes flew open and he was in the dungeon once more.

"Welcome back again," Ollivander said quietly somewhere in the blackness.

* * *

"Are you ready to leave?" Francis asked them the following morning after breakfast.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Alfred replied cheerfully, his right arm bandaged up but still functioning.

"Which is not at all," Kiku muttered.

"Well, we might as well go," Francis replied.

They turned on the spot and vanished into darkness.

When the pressure receded, Kiku saw their London flat looking like it did the same time yesterday when they left for the Burrow.

They had barely sat down when there was a loud pop and two Death Eaters appeared in their living room.

"Welcome back," one of them sneered.


	7. The Muggleborn Registration Commission

**Part VII**

Arthur had no sooner eaten the meagre meal that Ollivander had saved for him when Nataliya entered the dungeons again with a loaf of bread and a little pitcher of milk.

"I have more food," she said, handing it to Arthur, who split the bread in half, giving some to the wandmaker.

"Cheers, Nat," he said gratefully as he bit into his bread and tore chunks of it away as if it was a particularly juicy hunk of meat. "Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?"

"Don't think I'm doing this for you," Nataliya replied, but she was smiling. "Al would kill me if he saw you like this."

There was a long silence punctuated by Arthur loudly scarfing down the loaf and drinking the entire pitcher of milk. Nataliya sighed after he was done. "I've got news," she said quietly. "Mad-Eye Moody died in the battle over Little Whinging."

"The one in which I flew under the Imperious Curse and died as well?" Arthur asked. She nodded.

"Yes. Also, Death Eaters have taken over the Ministry and are already working to pass the Muggle-born Register, which would require everyone of Muggle parentage to present themselves for interrogation."

"That includes Alfred!" Arthur hissed.

"Yes, and several other people we know." She paused before continuing. "The Death Eaters have also penetrated the defences surrounding the Burrow and gate-crashed Bill and Fleur's wedding – is something wrong, Artie?"

"What's the date?" Arthur demanded.

"August third." Nataliya sighed again. "They've Tabooed the Dark Lord's name, making it easier for the Death Eaters to track down Order members. Saying it undoes any magical protection – with the exception of the Fidelius Charm."

"Is my family okay?"

Nataliya bit her lip. "Erin's in St. Mungo's after Rowle and Macnair attacked her about a month ago. But of the rest of the family seems to be fine," she hurriedly added after seeing Arthur's worried look. "I mean, they're still alive..."

"Right... what about the trio?" he asked. "Harry, Ron, and Hermione?"

"Last I heard they escaped Rowle at Tottenham Court Road. The Dark Lord wasn't pleased with him – he made Draco torture him."

"_He made Draco use the Cruciatus curse_?" Arthur demanded, sickened at the idea. "That... that's..."

"You haven't been interrogated in a while, so I get why you're so surprised," Nataliya sighed. "He's used Toris, Feliks, and Eduard, too... he's basically put everyone in the Warsaw Pact to work torturing people. I mean, I had to use the curse on that one Auror's parents... the one with the pink hair...?"

"Tonks?" Arthur whispered. Nataliya nodded.

"Yeah, her parents." Nataliya looked away, and Arthur thought he saw a tear in the corner of one eye.

"What else happened?" Arthur demanded again. It had been so long since he last knew what was going on – his days were spent in a haze of pain from killing after killing after killing.

"Well, the Death Eaters broke into all the Order-connected homes in the country and questioned the inhabitants on Harry's whereabouts. They went to the flat that Francis is living in with Alfred and Madeline, but no one was home."

"What about Kiku? Is he all right? Have you heard from him?"

"The short Japanese boy who was in our Potions class, right?" Nataliya asked. Arthur nodded. "I think he's actually... living with Al and Francis. I mean, they're staking out the flat for when Al and Francis return and I think I saw a kimono laid out in one of the rooms..."

Arthur listened with bated breath. Was Kiku all right? Was he safe? Was he happy?

* * *

Kiku was not all right, safe, or happy as he screamed in agony. The Death Eater casting the Cruciatus Curse on him cackled before asking him a question – the same question that he had asked all of them numerous times.

"Where is Harry Potter?"

"I don't know!" Kiku gasped, tears in his eyes.

"Liar! You are hiding him somewhere!"

"Sir, I-I don't...know!" Kiku repeated, desperately clinging to his sanity and trying not to show weakness.

Luckily, his interrogator tired of him and moved back to Alfred. "We are moving to implement a Muggle-born Register. In our records, you are Muggle-born and therefore you must present yourself to the Ministry at a future appointed date. If not, you will face tenure in Azkaban," he snapped, subjecting Alfred to the Cruciatus Curse again for no apparent reason.

Alfred bit his lip, trying to hold in his screams. Kiku looked on, sickened. But what could he do? He was bound by magic to his chair.

The Death Eaters left the flat an hour later. As soon as they were gone, Francis attempted to grab his wand that was lying just out of reach on the coffee table. Slowly, desperately...

Alfred sighed and looked at each of them. There was steely determination in the American's eyes as Francis finally grabbed his wand from the table and released the four of them.

Alfred was first to shakily get to his feet. "Did you hear that? That bullshit about the Muggle-born Register?" he snapped. "This is unjust! They're trying to round us up like cattle!"

"So now you're plotting to overthrow the Ministry in the name of goodness and justice? How very heroic of you," Francis replied sarcastically. "Pour moi, I prefer to stay on the sidelines."

"And that's why you're in stinking Slytherin!" Alfred snapped.

"Well, so was Arthur-san!" Kiku pitched in, rounding on Alfred. "You're using that age-old prejudice, Alfred-san! Didn't you learn _anything_ from being friends with Arthur?"

Alfred shook his head. "Kiku, there's a difference between Arthur and Francis! Arthur wasn't scared to pursue his ambitions! He fought for what he believed in and when he was outnumbered, gave up his life – don't look at me like that, Kiku, we all know he's dead – so his friends could be spared! On the other hand, Francis, you're scared to stand up for what you believe in, Francis! You'd let this continue? This torture of Muggle-borns and house-elves... Francis, you are such a _coward_!"

"Don't call him coward!" Madeline hissed.

"Please, Alfred-san, as much as I detest Francis-san here, I don't think this is the time to fight," Kiku said quietly in the most reasonable voice he could summon up. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named outnumbers us greatly especially now since the Ministry's behind him. He didn't take power immediately – Pius Thickenesse is but a puppet Minister for him – because he wanted to create this atmosphere of fear. He wants us to turn against each other."

Alfred bit his lip. "But I'm a hero," he said quietly.

"Sometimes heroes has to flee. They have to go into hiding and work out a plan to get rid of the villain there." Kiku thought vaguely of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Where were they? Were they all right?

"Well then, now it looks like we're getting the heck out of here," Alfred said.

"And why would our _petit héros_ say that?" Francis asked, tilting his head to the side as if Alfred had just revealed the meaning of life to him and it contradicted his own theory.

"Don't you know? It's obvious," Kiku snapped. "We're not safe here." He stood up. "We're... we're all connected to Harry."

"And to Arthur," Madeline added.

"They've g-got Arthur..." Kiku looked away as he said that, unable to meet Francis's eyes. "But they want Harry. They think we know where he is. They'll be tailing us as long as we're here."

* * *

"The Muggle-born Register has been passed," Nataliya reported, and Arthur showed nothing but a resigned look in his green eyes.

"I'd have been surprised if it didn't," he replied, slumping against the wall. "What's their excuse for killing Muggle-borns now?"

"That Muggle-borns are thieves of magical knowledge," the Belarusian replied simply, sitting down in the dungeon facing him. "They want to root out these 'usurpers of magical power' and every single Muggle-born must turn themselves in. They'll be sending out letters rounding up the Muggle-borns – that includes Al, Arthur! What are we going to do?"

"There's nothing we can do, Nataliya. Not unless you help me escape..."

She broke down crying. "He's a Nation... but what happens if you subject a Nation to the Dementor's Kiss? I don't want to think... think about a soulless Alfred... doomed to exist for eternity and never feel..."

Arthur felt a few tears escape as well as he awkwardly patted her shoulder, feeling his face heat up slightly for the first time in months. "There, there... Alfred's with Francis and Kiku; they'll protect him."

"It doesn't make sense, though. All the accused have to do is present one close Wizarding relative... Alfred could present Tiffany and any other cousins that go to Salem..."

"Technically they are very distant cousins," Arthur said quietly, leaning against the wall. "Alfred told me about his family once... how he and Matthew are the only ones with ties to Europe. The rest are related more to the Native Americans than to Alfred and Matthew and the Nations of Europe."

Nataliya furrowed her brows. "But if Alfred and Matthew have ties to Europe than how are they Muggle-born? The Nations of Europe all have magic, don't they?"

Arthur shrugged. "How do I know? The Scandinavians discovered America first. Alfred most likely gets his ties to Europe from them. But... his biological parents are Muggles... this doesn't explain a thing..."

They descended into thought.

"Maybe he's like a cuckoo amongst the robins," Nataliya said suddenly. "Somehow... through forces unknown... he and Matthew just happened to be born in a Muggle family. Sometimes... the best wizards come from humble beginnings..."

"Like Merlin," Arthur agreed. "Well... what other news? What about Hogwarts?"

"Attendance is now mandatory," Nataliya replied. "And students have to get Blood Status before attending, which means that no Muggle-borns will be allowed to go to Hogwarts."

Arthur knew that previously families could homeschool their children or send them abroad, but just about every wizard and witch in Britain went to Hogwarts anyways. But how would the new rules apply to Lilli Zwingli and Raivis Galante, the other foreign Nations still at school?

"I think the new rule says that if your name is down for Hogwarts you have to attend. But still, that doesn't explain why all the Nations are at Hogwarts in the first place. I mean, Raivis probably would have gone to Durmstrang..." Arthur then realised that he had voiced his thoughts aloud as Nataliya trailed off, sighed, and then stood up.

"Any news on Harry's whereabouts?" Arthur asked her. She shook her head.

"No, but the Ministry's calling him Undesirable Number One and they've got a ten-thousand Galleon reward for the person that catches him. They want him under the pretence of questioning him about Dumbledore's death."

"What, they're accusing _Harry_?" Arthur gasped, jumping to his feet in shock. "I was there on the tower! I _saw _it! _Snape_ killed Dumbledore, not Harry!"

"You're not really in any position to tell the truth," Nataliya pointed out.

"But Kiku was there, too!"

"Kiku's only one person," Nataliya reminded him. "He's just... like a candle in a snowstorm, you know?"

"I know," Arthur muttered, slumping back down with a little sigh.

* * *

"Dear Mr. Jones," Alfred read from the letter clutched so tight in his hand that even the slightest nudging could rip it. "We are under the impression that you claim Muggle ancestry. Therefore, as a Muggle-born, your presence is required at an interview with the Muggle-born Registration Commission. Signed, Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission."

The other occupants of the room were silent. Alfred finally looked up from the parchment, his face stricken.

"That old toad's still at the Ministry?" Francis demanded after a moment. "And she's persecuting Muggle-borns now?"

"Well, it was only a matter of time," Alfred replied, trying to instil some sarcasm into his voice and ending up sounding dejected.

Francis sighed. "You know they're not going to give you a fair trial, right?"

"Hai, Francis-san, because we really needed your cheerful input," Kiku growled. "Alfred-san's life is in danger here!"

"I know, which is why you should come with me, Alfred, to learn my family tree so you can answer questions on that. I'll pass you off as mon cousin."

Alfred shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks, Francis. Didn't you hear about what they did to Dirk Cresswell?" At Francis's silence he continued. "They examined his family tree. If I lied about my parentage and they ended up checking your family tree, they'll find us out and then _you_'ll be in danger, too."

Francis raised an eyebrow. "I'm trying to not be the big coward you think I am, Alfred," he said seriously, but there was the faintest hint of lightness in his voice.

"Yeah, but when it comes down to it, I don't want you going to Azkaban on my behalf," Alfred said with a sigh as he looked around at them. "I think we really ought to flee the country."

* * *

There was that little girl again. Arthur smiled at her; she ran towards him and squeezed him around the middle. Looking down at her, he fondly ruffled her already unruly dark hair.

"Papa, papa, I missed you," she said cutely, looking up at him with green eyes alight and a grin on her face. Arthur bent down and picked her up, spinning her around. Her delighted laughter rang in his ear like bells.

"I missed you, too," he whispered in her ear when he stopped spinning to catch his breath.

A pair of arms wrapped around him; someone's head rested on his shoulder. "She's a darling, isn't she?" Kiku's voice asked, his breath tickling Arthur's ear.

"Beautiful," Arthur agreed, as the little girl sucked her thumb and grinned at him. "I missed you, too," he added as he turned around, wanting to see Kiku.

For a moment, he saw Kiku's face but suddenly the Japanese's features seemed to be bubbling like wax – the little girl disappeared – and Arthur could only gasp in horror as Lord Voldemort stood in front of him.

With a mad cackle, Voldemort raised his wand. The dream shattered as pain hit Arthur like a thousand white-hot knives.

* * *

"Godric's Hollow?" Kiku asked.

"I don't think this is a good place to hide," Madeline remarked.

"Ouais, Alfred, it's got connections to Harry," Francis added as he pointed to the war memorial they had walked past – only it wasn't a memorial to war veterans now but a memorial to the Potters.

"Let's go look for Harry's house!" Alfred squealed, taking off in a random direction. Francis and Madeline raced after him, yelling something about taking care and not being an idiot. Once again, Alfred had forgotten about danger in the face of fun.

Kiku scoffed, knowing that their actions would be in vain. A nearby graveyard caught his attention. Maybe Harry's parents were there, somewhere. He pushed open the kissing gate that led into the graveyard and started searching.

"Abbot, Peverell, Bones, Marchbanks..." He dimly recognised some of the last names from his days at Hogwarts.

After a moment, he found a gravestone with Dumbledore marked on it. But it wasn't Albus Dumbledore – it was his mother's.

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," he read quietly, looking at the gravestone contemplatively. After a moment, he moved on.

He discovered the Potters after a few minutes. Part of him wondered if Harry had visited this place as he looked down at the white marble headstone. After a moment, he quickly conjured some chrysanthemums to place on the grave.

A row away from the Potters was another tombstone that caught Kiku's eye. It was a statue of a lion. He walked towards it, looking down at the final resting place of Godric Gryffindor.

After a moment, he noticed another familiar name on the gravestone right next to Gryffindor's. It was simple and very, very old. And yet he could make out the names carved on the stone, as if someone had engraved them again.

"Tristan Kirkland and his wife Islode," Kiku read. "Birth and death dates unknown." Below that was another message:

_Look to the land of dawn, for hope oft chases away darkness with the rising of the sun._

_That sounded a bit too cheerful coming from a Kirkland_, Kiku thought with a little smile as he waved his wand and conjured some more chrysanthemums for Tristan and Islode's grave.

* * *

"Still you do not respond?" Voldemort hissed at Arthur as the Nation twitched at his feet.

Arthur shook his head. Voldemort's upper lip curled in a sneer.

"Alright, then. Feliks, give our little friend here another taste of my displeasure."

Arthur looked at the Polish boy. "I am, like, totally sorry for this," Feliks whispered. "_Crucio_!"

To the Dark Lord, Arthur's screams were like music.

* * *

Gilbert Beilschmidt was in his room. After quickly making sure he wasn't being watched, he took out a mirror from the folds of his robes. "Luddy!" he hissed to the glass. "Oi, Luddy!"

After a moment, his reflection vanished and Ludwig's face was there, looking worried and slightly irritated as usual. "What is it, Gil?" he asked.

"I have unawesome news," Gilbert hissed. "They're checking all the owls we send – the Dark Lord doesn't trust us any more than he trusts that unawesome Thornfinn Rowle bloke. Since I can't talk to you with Gilbird, I'mma have to rely on this mirror."

"Ja, ja," Ludwig muttered. "Is that all you have to say, Gil? I'm a bit busy right now."

"The Dark Lord is going to Germany," Gilbert continued. "He asked me if I knew where Gregorovitch lived."

"Isn't Gregorovitch a wandmaker who lives in Siebenbürgen?" Ludwig asked.

"Transylvania? Ja, but the Dark Lord doesn't know that. He thinks that Gregorovitch is living in Germany."

"Well, he did once," Ludwig said quietly. "He lived in the house I'm living in right now."

"What?" Gilbert nearly dropped the mirror. "West, you're in trouble!"

"I can't leave," Ludwig replied, and for a moment, Gilbert wanted to reach out and hug his brother as he used to do long ago. But he couldn't. That would be unawesome and they were talking through a mirror anyways.

"Why not, Luddy?" Gilbert asked.

"I'm boarding with a Muggle woman and her children. If You-Know-Who visits her, I need to be there to protect them."

* * *

"Where were you?" Alfred demanded as they met up at the war memorial again in the late afternoon. "We found Harry's house! No one's bothered to rebuild it – come and look!"

Kiku followed the American down a path lined by houses. They walked down to the very end, where a dark mass stood there. Kiku soon realised that it was a rundown and partially destroyed cottage. Ivy was climbing over the walls; grass grew through cracks in the floor. The gate was rusty, yet Kiku reached out and touched it. At his touch, a sign rose out of the ground in front of him.

"Isn't it amazing?" Alfred asked as Kiku read the sign silently. "Madeline, Francis, and I wrote messages on the sign! See?"

He pointed to three messages that glowed slightly in the corner of the sign. Kiku nodded. "I see," he murmured.

"Do you want to write something?" Alfred held out a quill. Kiku frowned slightly, but he took the quill and quickly scrawled 'Long live Harry Potter' on the side of the sign.

"How touching," a third voice said from next to them. Kiku gasped, dropping the quill as Fenrir Greyback rose out of the bushes.

* * *

Arthur was crying again, slumped against the wall and still twitching involuntarily from the pain of the Cruciatus curse.

The dungeon doors opened again and Nataliya and Feliks entered the room with a first-aid kit. "I'm, like, so sorry," Feliks gushed, rushing over to Arthur as Nataliya unrolled some bandages. "We're like, totally gonna bandage you up, okay?"

Arthur looked at Nataliya. She smiled. "Can you... take off your shirt so I can take a look at your back?" she asked. Arthur hesitantly obliged and turned his back on her. She began applying ointment to the scratches and wounds on his back – all of them having reopened with the new torture. Feliks was gushing out a string of apologies.

"Like, I don't even know how I can, like, make it up to you," the Pole babbled. "Oh, and like, wasn't there, like, another guy who lives here?"

"Ollivander's sleeping," Arthur said, vaguely gesturing to the corner. He suddenly hissed in pain. "Ouch, Nat, that hurt!"

"Yes, that's the point," Nataliya replied, as she dabbed some more antiseptic ointment on the wounds. "You don't want infections in your back, you know."

"I thought there were healing spells for these cuts," Arthur muttered, examining his cut-up palm.

"I don't know them," Nataliya replied tersely.

After ten minutes or so, she was done with the bandages. "I'll, like, totally get you two some food," Feliks said as he and Nataliya turned to leave. "You guys look so gross and underfed."

"That'd be appreciated," Arthur said, slouching against the wall once more. As they left, he couldn't help but let tears trickle out of his eyes once more. He missed his friends, he missed the sunlight, he missed the feeling of fresh air against his face...

"I miss you," he murmured to the dark dungeon, thinking of a dark-haired Japanese boy.


	8. Sein Leben Hingeben

**Notes:** I WATCHED DEATHLY HALLOWS PART ONE TODAY AND IT WAS FABULOUS! Anyone else watch it? :D I was like all throughout the movie OMG ARTHUR/KIKU/ALFRED/FRANCIS'S LIKE... RIGHT... THERE... XD;;

* * *

**Part VIII**

"Well, well, well… what have we here?" Fenrir Greyback smirked at Alfred and Kiku. "Perhaps… a little Mudblood that I can turn in for some gold…"

Kiku backed up in front of Alfred. "Don't touch him, you foul werewolf," he growled.

Greyback raised an eyebrow and bared his teeth. "Oh, it's the Japanese boy, being reckless despite the fact that his little English lover gave himself up to save him… Well, Honda, Kirkland's not here to save your delicious little throat now, is he?"

Kiku quaked a little. "Shut. Up," he hissed, jabbing his wand in Greyback's direction. "Don't you _dare_ mention Arthur's name."

Greyback advanced; Kiku and Alfred backed away. "Let me fight him," Alfred pleaded. "Please?"

"I don't want you attacked," Kiku replied. "Better me than you."

"What! I'm the hero!" Alfred whined. "Stop blocking me!"

"You'll get bitten if you fight him, so don't be rash about it!" Around them, the afternoon was rapidly turning into night. Greyback let out a bone-chilling howl.

"Fuck, it's full moon tonight!" Alfred swore. Sure enough, the early evening stars were appearing and there was, behind a cloud, a distinctly circular moon.

A shiver – and not the pleasant sort – ran up and down Kiku's spine. "Im-Im-_Impedimenta_!" he screamed, pointing his wand at Greyback.

The werewolf was thrown against the sign. He fell to the ground and started convulsing, transforming...

"Run!" Alfred screamed as the werewolf's nose elongated into a snout. "_Stupefy_!" His Stunning Spell missed the werewolf by a hair as it stood up again, ready to give chase.

"Alfred!" screamed Kiku, already running away from the house. The American looked behind him at Greyback and broke out into a sprint as well.

They ran and ran, hearing the howls behind them and fearing for their lives. Finally, they came to the war memorial, where Francis and Madeline were. "Francis, Madeline, we've got to get out of here fast!" Alfred called. "There's a werewolf behind us!"

As if on cue, a howl rent the air. "Chez moi!" Francis yelled, turning on the spot with Madeline. Alfred and Kiku looked at each other, nodded, and they both followed Francis and Madeline into the dark.

* * *

"There was a werewolf attack at Godric's Hollow," Nataliya reported, and Arthur nearly dropped the chicken leg he was eating.

"What?" he gasped. "Who?"

"Fenrir Greyback met up with Kiku and Al –" Nataliya began, and Arthur sat bolt upright, the chicken leg landing back on the platter with a loud clatter.

"Kiku and Alfred?" he gasped. "Were they hurt?"

"They Disapparated before he really caught up with them," Nataliya hastily replied, and Arthur let out a sigh of relief, picking up the chicken leg again.

"Anyone else attacked, though?" he asked after a moment of chewing.

"Two little Muggle boys wandering out after dark," the Belarusian reported. "I heard the parents found their mangled corpses in the graveyard..."

Arthur shuddered. "Poor lads," he sighed.

He couldn't help but feel guilty about the thought 'better the little Muggle boys than Kiku or Alfred' currently running through his head.

* * *

Ludwig sighed as he looked at the mirror on his desk. When was Voldemort going to visit? Gilbert told him he was...

Maybe Gilbert was mistaken. Maybe Voldemort changed his mind. Ludwig unconsciously felt for his wand in his trouser pocket, feeling safer as soon as he had touched it.

He paced around the rug, taking care to stick to the edges. Feliciano had owled him the other day, asking him if he was going to visit him in Italy. He had told his boyfriend that he didn't know when he'd come to visit, that he needed to tend to some business... of course Feliciano had taken it all in stride but now Ludwig was seriously considering just setting out for Feliciano and Lovino's villa in Tuscany.

Yet he couldn't leave the Muggle landlady to her fate if Voldemort _did_ come.

* * *

Bonnefois Villa welcomed them once again. Kiku grudgingly accepted the thought that it was starting to feel like his sanctuary.

"We'll have to go into hiding," Francis said decisively as they walked up the path to his house. "Even though we have pretty much every single defensive spell on these grounds, we still haven't cast the Fidelius Charm."

"Why would we need to?" Alfred asked. "I mean you've got that key thing..."

"There's been a Taboo placed on You-Know-Who's name," Madeline replied, and Francis nodded. "We heard from the Order after Kingsley used it and the Death Eaters came mere seconds after. The only thing that seems to prevent Death Eaters from entering any dwelling is the Fidelius Charm because the Secret-Keeper has to tell you the location for you to find it."

"So who's going to be the Secret-Keeper?" Alfred asked eagerly.

"Moi," Francis replied, and Kiku raised an eyebrow. He didn't comment, though – it was _Francis_'s house, after all, and he had a right to protect it.

"When are we casting the spell?" Kiku asked.

"As soon as possible," Madeline said immediately. _Obviously_, thought Kiku as he and Alfred shot a look at each other, _they had discussed this prior to their escape from Greyback_.

"You know the incantations, right?" Alfred asked eagerly.

Francis nodded. "I don't quite remember it right now, but I definitely know the theory and I took notes on it last year in class when Flitwick covered them. Don't you remember? Arthur passed out in the middle of that class."

Kiku twitched slightly, looking away.

Francis chuckled and unlocked the door to the house.

* * *

"Ludwig, Ludwig, wie geht es dir?" asked the Muggle landlady at dinner. She looked at him concernedly. "You seem so quiet... well, more quiet than usual."

"I am fine, Frau Althaus," he replied stiffly, but she didn't seem to be convinced. Ludwig internally cursed his inability to mask away his feelings of anything other than anger.

"Ludwig, you know you can always tell me what's on your mind," Frau Althaus, whose name was Gisela, said kindly. Her two children, Hulda and Klaus, smiled and nodded from their places across the table.

"Ja, Herr Beilschmidt, we're friends, aren't we?" Hulda asked cheerfully. Her innocence dimly reminded Ludwig of Feliciano; he suddenly found great interest in piling his potatoes into a neat circle and stabbing them to death.

"Ja," he said, albeit hesitantly. They were so friendly and kind to him; it wrenched his heart to know that their lives were so quickly ending because of Lord Voldemort...

_Don't be so certain_, he reminded himself. _Maybe you will be able to protect them_.

But he didn't have a plan... Ludwig always believed in plans. But all he had for a plan this time around was just to protect Gisela and her children, no matter what the price was.

That was a noble plan, but it wasn't strategic. And yet, dying for Gisela, Hulda, and Klaus was the least he could do to repay all of their hospitality.

Gisela was laughing at something Hulda had said. Ludwig watched them, a tear forming in the corner of one blue eye. Did they know that their time here was now numbered? He wanted to tell them. But that would break the Statute of Secrecy, and Ludwig hated breaking rules.

_Lord Voldemort will be breaking that whenever he comes to this house_, a little voice reminded him. _By killing Gisela and what she had left of her family, he would be flouting the Statute along with committing murder_.

"Herr Beilschmidt, are you crying?" Hulda was looking at him, once again reminding him of Feliciano at his most beautiful. Ludwig stubbornly shook his head and wiped away his tears.

"Nein," he mumbled. "I shouldn't be."

"Why not?" Oh, how Ludwig hated the traitorous tears that sprang up at that question! "Is it because of –?"

There was a knock at the door. Ludwig stiffened.

"I'll get the door," he muttered, moving to get out of his seat.

"Nein, nein, Ludwig," Gisela said firmly. "You must sit and eat your dinner. I'll go and answer it."

"Frau Althaus –" Ludwig began to say, but it was to no avail. She was already heading down the darkened entryway.

Ludwig muttered a few German curses out of the earshot of the children as he got out of his chair and left the room.

"Is Herr Beilschmidt expecting anyone?" Klaus called after him as he entered the entryway. "Is it the Italienisch?"

* * *

Feliciano Vargas had just sat down to a delicious meal of penne pasta smothered in carbonara sauce when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll go get the door, fratello!" he exclaimed to his brother Lovino, almost bouncing with excitement. "Maybe it's Luddy!"

Lovino frowned. "Sì, sì, fratello. Just keep the noise level down, okay?" Next to him, Mabel Clouseau, Feliciano and Lovino's half-sister, and her cousin Aurélie Bonnefois giggled.

Feliciano paid them no heed, happily bouncing over to answer the door. There _was_ a Beilschmidt standing on the other side of the door, but it wasn't the one Feliciano was expecting.

"Feliciano, my brother's in trouble," Gilbert said, hastily stepping into the house and warily looking behind him as he did. "I just escaped from the Dark Lord's unawesome manor. He's left for Germany – for Ludwig's house!"

"Veeeee!" screamed Feliciano, flailing wildly. "Luddy is in trouble? Veeee, what do I do?"

"Calm down, fratello!" Lovino yelled from the kitchen.

"But Lovi!" Feliciano exclaimed, turning in the direction of the kitchen. "Luddy's in trouble!"

"Ja, he is! Feliciano, you have to go help him!" Gilbert looked near hysterics as well, something that Feliciano had never seen before.

"I have to help Luddy? But how?" the Italian cried in dismay. "Will you come along with me, ve?"

"If I go, the Dark Lord will know I betrayed him and that would not be awesome at all!" Gilbert seized Feliciano by the shoulders. "You have to go, Feliciano!"

The Italian trembled. Everyone knew he was weak, didn't they? But he had to try for Ludwig, because otherwise... he shuddered at the thought. The Dark Lord was so scary!

"Bitte?" pleaded Gilbert. "I know it's unawesome of me to plead, but _bitte_, Feliciano? Just... check to make sure he's awesome, okay?"

"...S-sì..." Feliciano said after a moment, his voice weak. "But I need to eat my pasta first..."

* * *

"Gregorovitch?" a high cold voice demanded, sharply reminding Ludwig of a certain Chancellor of Germany. "I want Gregorovitch."

Gisela screamed, the sound sending Ludwig's heart jumping into his throat.

"Er wohnt hier nicht mehr!" she cried. "He doesn't live here anymore! I don't know him!"

"Where is Gregorovitch?" Lord Voldemort repeated, stepping over the threshold.

"Mama!" Hulda cried, as she and Klaus ran into the hallway. "Don't kill mama!"

"Das weiβ ich nicht! He moved! I don't know where or who he is!" Gisela screamed at the same time. "I know nothing! Please, have mercy!"

Lord Voldemort was not known for his mercy. He took out his wand, raising it.

"_Stupefy_!" Ludwig yelled, jumping out of the shadows. But Voldemort merely brushed it aside.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" he hissed. Ludwig dodged the Killing Curse – it hit Hulda.

Klaus screamed. "Hulda!" Gisela gave a scream as well, running towards her children. Ludwig gasped. Had he... had he really let a little girl die like that?

He conjured a straight line of fire, but Voldemort turned it into a snake. Gisela was sobbing loudly for her daughter. Guilt clouded Ludwig's mind as he turned the snake into a sword flying through the air. The sword became a fiery lasso, which became a river that Voldemort dried up with a flick of his wand.

Ludwig bit his lip, standing up straight and tall even as Voldemort sent another Killing Curse straight for his heart.

* * *

Arthur looked up from the _Daily Prophet_. "Snape, headmaster of Hogwarts?" he demanded.

Nataliya nodded. Arthur crumpled up the newspaper, shaking his head and muttering a long string of curses under his breath.

"I don't think Alfred will like the news any more than you," she remarked.

"That's an understatement," Arthur snapped. "Snape _killed_ Dumbledore!"

"A fact that you have restated to me _ad nauseam_," Nataliya replied in a very unamused tone.

"Well, I'm sorry but it's the bleedin' truth!" Arthur grumbled.

There was a long period of silence.

"What's Vol – er, You-Know-Who up to?" Arthur asked after a moment.

"He's in Germany right now," Nataliya replied. "Gilbert told me before he..."

"Before...?" Arthur demanded, raising both eyebrows.

Nataliya sighed. "He's escaped from here. He's going to go into hiding in Italy or Hungary..."

"Is there a way to escape this cellar?" Arthur asked.

"No, the cellar's escape proof. The main part of the house, however, is a bit different – although the Death Eaters are tracking the Warsaw Pact's movements. Gilbert told Bellatrix – she's been left in command while the Dark Lord is gone – that he's gone to follow a lead on the Order of the Phoenix in Italy."

"That doesn't seem to be a very good excuse..."

"Well, Feliciano and Lovino live in Italy, don't they?" Nataliya asked, and Arthur didn't bother answering her.

* * *

Ludwig woke up in his room. For a moment, he vaguely wondered if it had all been a dream, and then he realised that he had apparently gone to bed in his normal clothes. Oh no, he'd have to iron them out again before he could wear them in public...

"Ve, ve, Ludwig, you're awake!" a voice exclaimed – a voice that Ludwig had longed to hear since the wedding fiasco.

"Feliciano!" he exclaimed, letting his emotions seep into his voice for once as the exuberant Italian engulfed him in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking care of you, Ludwig! You were out for days! I thought you were dead!" Feliciano nuzzled Ludwig's neck, causing the German to blush profusely. "You weren't _dead_, were you? Oh silly me, of course not! You wouldn't be talking to me right now! I tried making you pasta, but all I found were potatoes and wursts! Luddy, you really need to stock up on your groceries –" He was cut off by Ludwig's unexpected kiss.

The German blushed again and leaned away from Feliciano after a moment. "W-where's Gisela?" he asked after a moment. "Where's Klaus? Hulda?"

Feliciano tilted his head to the side. "Who?" he asked, confusion clouding his face.

"They're not dead, are they?" Ludwig pleaded, springing to his feet and dashing out of his room.

"Ludwig, wait!" Feliciano cried. "Wait for me!"

Ludwig rushed into the one of the other bedrooms in the house, the one that belonged to Klaus and Hulda. He gave a cry of dismay when he saw them, lying on their beds with their features frozen in shocked expressions. Grimly expecting the same of Gisela, he ran to the master bedroom and wrenched the door open.

Gisela's corpse lay on her bed as well, the echoes of her last scream etched on her matronly face.

Ludwig fell to his knees before her bed, feeling pain and grief in equal measure. "Nein," he hissed, feeling hot tears of anguish well up. "Nein..."

"Luddy?" Feliciano whispered. There were footsteps and the Italian was embracing him, nuzzling against him in an attempt to comfort the grieving German. "Luddy, are they dead?"

"Ja, Feliciano, and it's all my fault," Ludwig whispered, bowing his head.


	9. Semper Fidelis

**Notes:** Don't expect another chapter until Christmas, because that's the Christmas chapter! XD;;

**

* * *

Part IX**

The skies above Germany were grey and dull, a perfect representation of Ludwig's feelings as he and Feliciano dug three graves in the backyard of the Althaus house.

"Ve… I'm tired, Luddy," Feliciano whimpered for about the billionth time already. "Can we take a break?"

"You can, but I won't stop," Ludwig replied as he made Hulda's grave a little deeper with another flick of his wand. Feliciano sat down underneath a tree in the backyard, leaning against the trunk with a sigh.

"Why are you trying to bury them today?" he asked. "And shouldn't we bury them in a graveyard?"

"People will ask questions," Ludwig said stiffly as he continued to dig.

In the end, he had the three graves ready. Feliciano helped him take the bodies out of the house and bury them. The Italian even placed flowers on the grave as Ludwig marked them.

They stood back to admire their handiwork. "Are we going to Tuscany now, Ludwig?"

"Ja," Ludwig mumbled, his voice like a eulogy. "Ja, let's go."

* * *

Francis had made them all leave the house while he cast the Fidelius Charm.

"You _don't_ want to be there when the spell's cast and the house suddenly disappears," he remarked wryly. "So it'd be better if you three went elsewhere…"

"The Zone Piettone," Madeline said immediately. "Come on, Kiku, Alfred!"

They walked along the boulevard, which was quiet compared to the rest of the city. Madeline dragged them into random boutiques occasionally, but overall all they did was walk and window-shop. Alfred eventually got bored and started people watching.

"Let's sit down," Kiku said after a moment. They came to a little café and took a table outside. Kiku ordered some tea; Alfred and Madeline ordered iced coffees.

Around them people were bustling about, shopping and meeting friends. Kiku watched them over the rim of his teacup. The Muggles all seemed to be so happy, so unaffected… while they feared that Death Eaters could swoop in any second and wreck their happiness…

"Bonjour," said a voice nearby, and Kiku nearly jumped out of his skin in fright.

"F-Francis-san, don't do that," he complained, even as the Frenchman pecked Madeline on both cheeks and smirked at him.

"The charm's done," he said cheerfully. "It was rather… well, rather puzzling at first, since Flitwick talked more about the theory behind the charm rather than how to invoke it…"

"Right, so can you share the secret with us now?" Alfred asked eagerly. Francis nodded, taking out a scrap of parchment.

* * *

Nataliya slipped into the dungeons with some more food, as usual. Ollivander took his portion silently, as the Belarusian sat down across from Arthur.

"How long do you think it'll take for them to realise that most of the Warsaw Pact have pretty much defected?" Arthur asked. Nataliya shrugged.

"They've been pretty busy with their own business – controlling the Ministry and hunting down wandmakers in Germany –"

"Wait, wandmakers in Germany?" Arthur demanded. "Is he after something? Like... a wand to defeat Harry's maybe?"

"Yes," Ollivander called from his corner. "He's looking for the Elder Wand."

"But he's looking for Gregorovitch!" Nataliya exclaimed.

"Exactly," the wandmaker said. "A few decades ago he claimed that he was duplicating the properties of the Elder Wand."

Arthur, having been raised in a wizarding household, knew why Voldemort would seek the Elder Wand.

* * *

"Welcome to my house, Luddy!" Feliciano exclaimed happily, opening the door and prancing into the villa. "Fratello? Gilbert? I'm back!"

"Is Luddy fine?" Gilbert's voice sounded from the living room.

"Ja, I'm fine," Ludwig said, and moments later the albino Prussian had charged out of nowhere, engulfing the German in a bone-crushing hug.

"Bruder, bruder, this is totally unawesome of me but I'm just so fuckin' glad that you're alive!" Ludwig turned bright red at that.

"Gil, I'm glad to know you're all right as well, but you're cutting off my circulation," he gasped as the Prussian squeezed tighter and tighter.

"Oh! Right! Entschuldigung!" Gilbert broke away, looking apologetic.

Feliciano was happily watching them. "I'll go make some pasta!" he exclaimed.

* * *

Kiku thought of Bonnefois Villa and the location that Francis had written on the parchment, and suddenly the house was there, lights twinkling in the sunset.

Dinner was quiet. Francis had cooked a delicious five-course meal, but no one talked throughout. Afterwards, he and Madeline went for a walk in the garden. Alfred wandered to the half-court Quidditch pitch to practice his Beater skills, and Kiku went to bed.

Despite being in his sleep clothes and sprawled out on his bed, sleep wouldn't come to the Japanese man. He stared up at the ceiling of his room. It was times like this – when he was lonely and it was quiet and he had nothing to do – that he started thinking of Arthur again, thinking of how much he missed his friend...

Had their kiss meant anything? Arthur said nothing about courting him, nothing about love or even reciprocal feelings of his own.

_But actions speak louder than words_, a voice reminded him. _If he didn't like you, he wouldn't have kissed you_.

He had heard rumours that Arthur and Francis had broken up the afternoon of Dumbledore's death – he could easily recall the happiness that expanded in his chest when Mei Wang told him the news. He felt so mean to be so happy when Arthur had undoubtedly been heartbroken, but then again, he had never liked the Frenchman much.

Working and putting up with Francis was his way of making sure that Arthur had not given himself up in vain.

Kiku sighed, wiped stray tears from his eyes, and closed them, but sleep still evaded him.

* * *

"There's been a Ministry break-in," Nataliya reported later on in the endless darkness – because day and night had no meaning when one was cooped up in a dark and dank cellar – as she brought them a meal that could have been dinner or maybe even the next day's breakfast. Arthur couldn't tell by this point.

"What?" Arthur asked, frowning slightly. "Who's behind it?"

"Harry Potter, I suspect," Nataliya replied. "In any case, there were at least three impostors in the Ministry today, masked with Polyjuice Potion. They stole Mad-Eye Moody's eye and helped some Muggle-borns escape... and I think they attacked Dolores Umbridge, too."

"Well, it was about time the old hag got what was coming to her," Arthur said scathingly, and Nataliya giggled.

"She's a right old bat, she is," the Belarusian agreed. "We were supposed to go and assess the damage, but no one bothered talking to Umbridge. She seemed rather put out by that."

Arthur snickered. "Serves her right." He knew perfectly well that if Harry had attacked her, he would have had every reason to. "Any news on Alfred?"

"Yes, I found a list of Muggle-borns that did not 'turn themselves in for interrogation'," the Belarusian said solemnly. "Alfred, Matthew, and Im Yong-Soo are on the list, as well as Hermione Granger."

Arthur bit his bottom lip. "Good," he said after a moment. "They've probably gone into hiding."

"And I found files on everyone when I was searching Umbridge's office." Nataliya pulled out a card. "Look what they've got on you."

Arthur frowned as he read the card. "Arthur Kirkland. _Blood status:_ Pureblood, with unacceptable pro-Mudblood leanings. Possible member of the Order of the Phoenix. _Family:_ Three brothers, one sister. Two brothers and sister work for Ministry and Gringotts, the youngest currently attends Hogwarts. _Security Status:_ Unknown. Possibly in hiding with Undesirable Number One (have been friends while at Hogwarts)..." he trailed off, staring at the last part incredulously. "They think I'm in hiding with...?"

"With Harry," Nataliya replied.

"That's... ugh..." Arthur screwed up his face. "Words fail me. Is my government really that idiotic?"

* * *

After several failed attempts at falling asleep, Kiku finally managed to do so – and dream of Arthur.

They were together, alone, and holding onto each other as if the world was falling around their ears (because it was) and the only thing that was certain anymore was the fact that Arthur was kissing him and he liked it. So he kissed the dream Arthur back, reaching out to stroke his cheek and run his fingers through the Briton's golden locks, never wanting the dream to end but knowing that it had to.

"Don't let me go, ever," the dream Arthur whispered in his ear. "Please?"

"I'm sorry that I killed you," was all Kiku could say, "and I'll never let you go. Ever again..."

Everything else seemed to be such a pleasant blur after that – it was just Arthur and him, in a field surrounded by nothing but stars that twinkled like little Swarovski crystals overhead, and he had pressed himself close to the Slytherin, wrapping his arms around him and letting his lips meander along Arthur's collarbone. This was heaven, and part of the Japanese man wished that he could die so he could stay in the dream forever... stay with the dream Arthur that was holding him close and caressing him...

"Kiku?" someone asked.

Kiku reluctantly pulled himself out of his dream to see Madeline standing in the doorway. "Hai, Madeline-chan?"

"We were just wondering if you were all right," the Seychellois girl replied kindly, concernedly.

"I'm fine," he replied, and she smiled.

"That's good... do you need anything?"

Kiku shook his head, settling back against the pillows. "Good night, Madeline-chan," he said firmly.

"Bonne nuit," she replied as she left.

* * *

Arthur smiled at the little girl that came running up to him, her arms outstretched and her face cheerful. "Hello, darling," he cooed, sweeping her up in his arms and spinning her around once more. "How are you?"

"Wonderful!" she giggled, nuzzling her neck. "What about you?"

Arthur had no idea what to say to that, so he just settled for holding the little girl close to him, as if she were a priceless jewel.

"Papa, I'm going to Hogwarts soon," the little girl said, and suddenly she wasn't a little girl anymore. Arthur gaped at the eleven-year-old standing before her.

"You... just... grew..." he said slowly, staring at her in disbelief.

"This is just a dream, isn't it?" she asked, taking him by the hand and leading him onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. "Papa, you'll write to me, won't you?"

And Arthur couldn't help but be reminded of little Alfred, the little boy with the cornflower eyes that he had dreamed of four years ago – the little boy who grew up way too fast, like this little girl who was now waving at him onboard the Hogwarts Express. There was another boy sitting next to her who looked like a cross between Alfred and Nataliya and another across from her with Matthew's hair and Yekaterina's smile...

Arthur woke up to darkness once more, with a sudden urge to cry.


	10. Nil Desperandum

**Notes:** CHRISTMAS CHAPTER BOO-YEAH! Since I'm going to Utah for Christmas, I'm not going to be able to upload on the 25th. And since my birthday is tomorrow, I'm going to be a brat and upload it today and bask in the glows of hypothetical reviews tomorrow. What?

* * *

**Part X**

_"____Give it to me, Gregorovitch__."_

Arthur was dreaming again, but not of the little girl.

He was inside a dimly-lit room watching a tall, hooded figure interrogate an old man bound by magic. Dangling upside-down from the ceiling, the bound man gave the look of an eerie trussed-up Father Christmas.

All along the walls of the room were boxes and boxes of wands. Arthur walked over to the hallway, not wanting to be seen by the dream-people. Yet was this all but a dream? Surely it must be reality somewhere else, because the tall, hooded man was none other than Lord Voldemort.

A shiver ran up and down Arthur's spine. He bit his lower lip, wishing that he wasn't looking at the loathsome man who had destroyed so many of his people, damaged so much of his land, and deferred his dreams of happiness right when they seemed about to come true.

___"I have it not, I have it no more!"_ Gregorovitch pleaded, eyes widened with fear.

Voldemort hissed. _"____Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Gregorovitch__,"_ he growled, looking spitefully into the wandmaker's fearful eyes. _"____He knows... he always knows..."_

And by some virtue of the dream, Arthur felt himself falling forward, almost plunging into the blackness of the wandmaker's pupils. He and Voldemort were entering the depths of Gregorovitch's mind, forcefully penetrating his memories.

The blackness became a long tunnel, lit by Gregorovitch's lantern. The man was rushing, eventually bursting into a room that seemed to be a workshop.

A young man was perched on the windowsill of Gregorovitch's workshop, a lopsided grin on his face that reminded Arthur of Alfred's own crooked smile. He seemed delighted with what he had, golden hair shining in the lantern's glow. Shooting a Stunning Spell at Gregorovitch, the thief bounded from the windowsill.

_"____Who was the thief__?"_ Voldemort's cold voice demanded, his voice diverting Arthur back to the dim room.

___"I do not know, I never knew,__"_ Gregorovitch replied. _"____It was a young man, I knew not of his name – no – please – PLEASE!"_

And suddenly there came green light, cutting short Gregorovitch's scream –

* * *

"Kiku, are you all right?" Francis asked as the Japanese blearily padded into the breakfast room in his yukata.

"You haven't been yourself for so long..." Madeline added.

Kiku's left eye twitched slightly. "I am perfectly fine," he replied quietly, calmly. It had been months. Autumn was settling in, but it still felt like summer in the the Mediterranean climate of Nice. The only indication of any change in season was the sudden increase in rainfall; sure enough, it was pouring outside.

"Say, we're scheduled to do guest appearances on _Potterwatch_!" Alfred pitched in over his French toast. "We'll have to get code names and everything!"

"What are we supposed to talk about?" Kiku asked, staring out at the rain.

"Something hopeful," Alfred replied with a shrug. "I dunno what, really. Just make it up, I suppose?"

_Something hopeful_, Kiku contemplated.

For him, coming up with something hopeful to say on the radio would be just as difficult as catching the Giant Squid and turning it into giant sushi.

* * *

Arthur was finally going to take a bath. It had been an entire season and a half now, and he was starting to smell rather seasoned by then.

Nataliya was standing guard outside the lavatory as Arthur submerged himself in the hot water, grinning from ear to ear. For a few blissful moments he could forget that he was in the Death Eater headquarters, that his very life was on the line every day (not that that mattered much since he could come back), and that Harry Potter was hunting Horcruxes somewhere in Britain with a ten-thousand Galleon price on his head.

A silvery-white stork came flying into the room, perching on the chair next to the tub. It opened its mouth and spoke with Nataliya's voice.

"How's the water?"

Arthur nearly jumped out of the tub in surprise. "Nataliya? You can cast a Patronus now?"

"I've been practising in secret," the stork replied, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Alfred told me that Dumbledore trained the members of the Order of the Phoenix how to do interactive Patronuses, so I tried to learn how to do them as well. Did I succeed?"

"Admirably," Arthur gasped, sinking back down into the tub and covering himself with bubbles. "Nearly frightened me out of the tub."

The stork cackled. Arthur pouted.

"To business," Nataliya's Patronus said after a moment. "Dirk Cresswell, a Ministry worker convicted of family tree fraud, has just escaped Azkaban."

"Family tree fraud?" Arthur echoed. "He pretended to be pureblood?"

The stork seemed to roll its eyes. "No, he was pretending to be Muggle-born," she deadpanned.

"Okay, okay! I just wanted to clarify," Arthur snapped. "Who else is avoiding the Muggle-Born Registration Committee?"

"Ted Tonks, Muggle-born father of the pink-haired Auror and relative of the lovely people who own this lovely place."

"Bet that went down well with the Malfoys," Arthur muttered as he washed his hair.

* * *

Christmas at Bonnefois Manor meant a giant Christmas tree in the entryway and garlands of mistletoe all over the house.

"Surprise!" Francis cackled as Kiku stared up at horror at the mistletoe hung right above his bed.

"Don't you dare get any closer," the Japanese growled, pointing his wand at the Frenchman.

All throughout the house the smells and sounds of Christmas filled the air as the four friends prepared to celebrate.

"We're going on _Potterwatch_ tonight," Francis exclaimed at lunch. "They're hosting the broadcast session at the Burrow."

So nightfall found them Apparating to the Burrow and entering to general welcome. The Weasley's house was decorated for Christmas as well – a tree, lavishly decorated, stood in the corner while aromas drifted in from the kitchen.

"Alfred! Madeline! How have you been?" Fred Weasley cheered, bouncing up from the couch in the living room to greet them.

"Great! Or as great as it can get being a hero in exile," Alfred exclaimed, hugging Fred and then the other twin, George. "Heard anything about Mattie?"

"Who?" George asked, tilting his head slightly.

"My Hufflepuff brother!"

The twins looked at each other. "Haven't heard of him," they chorused.

Ginny Weasley came running in, her red hair blazing like flames. She engulfed each of them in a hug. "I've missed all of you! Have you heard anything about Harry? Is he all right?"

"No, we haven't heard from Harry at all, and all we've heard _about_ him are things from the Ministry," Madeline replied sadly. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Loads," the red-haired girl said sadly, and when she looked at Kiku she seemed to be conveying a sense of empathy.

They were in the same boat now.

* * *

"Hello? Anyone else in here?" a new voice broke through the dark silence of the cellar. Arthur couldn't believe his ears.

"Luna? Is that you?" he asked.

"Arthur? Oh, so you've been here all along?" Luna Lovegood's footsteps approached. "Can you tell me how to get out of my binds? The Wargnoffles in the ropes are starting to bite at my wrists."

Arthur knew now was not the time to question Luna about Wargnoffles, so he scrabbled for the floor around him for the old nail that Ollivander had used to cut his own bonds months ago. Finally finding it by stabbing his thumb on the tip, Arthur cursed and reached out in the darkness for Luna.

After finally managing to extricate Luna from Wargnoffle-infested ropes, Arthur went back to leaning against the wall. "What's been happening?" he asked. "At Hogwarts, I mean. What's going on?"

"Well, Ginny, Neville, and I started up Dumbledore's Army again."

* * *

"Welcome back, listeners, to another airing of _Potterwatch_!" Lee Jordan, codename River, exclaimed into the microphone. "For the pre-Christmas session we have with us three special guests along with our two regular contributors. Give a warm welcome to Rose, Raptor, and Reimei!"

"Reimei?" Alfred, codename Raptor, asked Kiku, who was obviously Reimei.

"It means dawn," Kiku retorted. "Hopeful enough for you?"

"_Japonais_, I believe?" Francis, codename Rose, pitched in.

"That's quite enough, boys," a third voice interrupted. It was Kingsley.

"Hello, Royal!" Lee exclaimed. "And Romulus? How have you been?"

"Quite excellent, River," Remus said wearily. "Shall we continue?"

"Yes, yes. Royal, do give us our regular update on how this new Wizarding regime is affecting the Muggle world."

* * *

"Dreams are powerful things, you know," Luna said quietly in the dark to Arthur. They were leaning against the wall, side by side.

Arthur nodded, but that was a waste of expression. "Yeah, so I've heard. And this dream of mine... well, I don't even know why I'm telling you this... but the dream somehow felt quite real."

"Maybe it was some form of reality," the Ravenclaw girl said dreamily. "Recount, please?"

"I saw You-Know-Who kill an old wandmaker named Gregorovitch. But before he did, he read Gregorovitch's mind and saw a thief... someone who stole something that You-Know-Who wants."

"The Elder Wand," Ollivander cut in from the other side of the room. "Gregorovitch had the Elder Wand."

"But who stole it from him?" Arthur whispered.

"I don't know."

Arthur had a hunch anyways.

* * *

"Now, since these holidays are a time of hope and happiness, we therefore look to our three guest speakers to say something hopeful to all of us!" Lee exclaimed, and Kiku paled.

"Let's all keep looking forward," Alfred said suddenly, looking hesitant. "Sorry, that just... totally came out of my mouth at random! But really, I mean it! We're all heroes here, we all need to keep our hopes up! We'll win this fight eventually, because as long as there are heroes like me and you, You-Know-Who will never triumph!"

"Excellent, excellent, Raptor!" Lee said with a grin, and Alfred responded with a grin. "Rose?"

"Aah... um... well, long ago, there was a Roman named Horace who said these very words: _Nil desperandum_. It's Latin, and it means never despair. We won't give up; we won't give in to the Dark Lord."

"Quite sophisticated of you, Rose, but I expected nothing less." Lee turned to Kiku. "What about you, Reimei?"

Kiku paled an even paler shade of pale. "Er..." he stammered. "D-dawn! My name means dawn, because dawn symbolises hope. The other day I came across an engraving in a cemetery that said... that said..."

He paused to remember the words.

"It said... Look to the land of dawn... for... for hope oft chases away the darkness with the rising of the sun." He blushed slightly, glad that it was just radio. "It's rather... rather mysterious, right? But I think it just means that we shouldn't despair, that we should look forward - everything Rose and Raptor said before me. Dawn... dawn has always been a symbol of hope. Harry has been our symbol of hope. Harry is the dawn, look to him."

"That was very well stated!" Lee exclaimed as Kiku finally gave him the microphone, looking mortified. "Thank you very much for your inspiring statements, Raptor, Rose, and Reimei. Now, listeners, this brings us to the end of another _Potterwatch_. We're not too sure when we'll be back, but we will be back. So keep twiddling the dials, and the next password is 'Albus'. Keep each other safe. Keep faith. Good night."

Kiku smiled a real smile for the first time in months.


	11. Insert Pearl Harbour Theme Here

**Notes:** Aaaaaand the second part of the Christmas chapter - even if Christmas fades quickly into the next big event, aka Dobby. DOBBY DIDN'T MEAN TO KILL; DOBBY ONLY MEANT TO MAIM... OR SERIOUSLY INJURE!

Just so you know, I was listening to "...And Then I Kissed Him" from _Pearl Harbour_ while writing the paper cranes part.

* * *

**Part XI**

"Arthur, wake up, wake up," Luna whispered.

Arthur opened his eyes, taking a deep breath. He shuddered slightly, hating the darkness of the cellar.

"You had one of those dreams again, didn't you?" Luna asked. A hand rested on his arm, causing the Briton to twitch away.

"Y-yes," he gasped.

"What was it about?"

"You know… You-Know-Who…" Arthur leaned heavily against the wall, feeling pain, anger, and sadness course through his body like white-water rapids. "He… he was attacking Harry."

Stunned silence on her part made him feel uncomfortable.

"He was with Hermione. They were in a house with an old lady… she asked for Harry to follow her and became a snake..."

Luna gasped. "Did Harry escape?"

"Yes, he and Hermione escaped… but You-Know-Who was enraged… and in pain, because he was within sight of Harry's house… which means that Harry and Hermione had gone to Godric's Hollow!"

"Well, at least they're fine!" Luna exclaimed. "But… somehow I think there's more to this dream of yours..."

"Yeah. You-Know-Who saw the picture of the thief… the thief was somehow related to the old lady…"

* * *

Everyone was up early on Christmas morning opening presents around the tree and snacking on freshly baked croissants from the kitchen.

Everyone except Kiku, of course.

"Don't be such a killjoy, Kiku!" Alfred whined, dragging the Japanese away from his bed. Francis and Madeline were giving each other their presents when Alfred frogmarched Kiku into the room.

"Look who's up," Francis drawled, handing Kiku a parcel. "Joyeux Noël."

"Happy Christmas," Kiku replied stiffly, sitting down on the nearby bench and unwrapping the parcel.

Francis had given him a bottle of lubricant. Kiku stared at the bottle and then back at the Frenchman, whose grin could have rivalled the Cheshire cat's.

"Like it?" Francis asked with that wide grin. "Think it might come in handy if it turns out that Arthur's not dead after all."

"You are an absolute pervert," Kiku hissed.

The rest of his presents were less in the gutter. Alfred gave him some red and green cookies that Kiku suspected were the American's latest attempt at baking. Madeline got him a book of seafood recipes. The Weasleys sent in a box of sweetmeats and a hand-knitted jumper.

"I can't believe Nat took all this trouble to send me a Broomstick Servicing Kit," Alfred breathed from next to him. Kiku looked over at the American, who was reading Nataliya's card with a fond expression on his face.

He suddenly started missing Arthur more than ever, wishing that the Briton was there opening presents with him.

"There's another present for you," Madeline suddenly noted, tossing Kiku the last parcel under the tree. "Got it from Feliciano who got it from Gilbert who got it from Nataliya."

Kiku blinked, unwrapping the brown paper. Suddenly a torrent of clumsily made paper cranes spilled out onto his lap. There was a card and the glint of something metallic buried beneath the pile of cranes.

The card read:

_Dearest Kiku,_

_I am sending this to you under the pretence that they are Death Eater correspondence notes – it's the only way this can get to you. Nataliya is sending this to Gilbert, who will send it to Feliciano, whom I trust will deliver it to you instead of reading them himself._

_Herein are all the letters I have written to you since my capture; every time Nataliya comes down she provides enough light in this cellar for me to write something from my heart to you. I wish I could express just how much I miss you and all the rest of my friends. _

_Also enclosed is a locket – it's my mother's; don't get any ideas that I wear lockets like a girl – think of it as me until we are reunited._

_With all my heart, _

_Arthur_

_P.S. Teach me how to fold paper cranes when we meet again. _

"You're crying, Kiku," Alfred noted.

The Japanese wiped away the tears and bit his lip. "Hai, but... none of your business..."

"We know, which makes it surprising," Francis said, peering over at the cranes. "They're from Arthur, aren't they?"

Kiku nodded, taking the locket from its hiding place within the cranes and opening the clasp. A fairly recent photograph was there of Arthur, smiling up at him and waving slightly.

Kiku burst into fresh tears, grabbing the cranes and the locket and running out of the room.

* * *

"Look what I got you," Nataliya said, handing Arthur a parcel. "Happy Christmas."

"Thanks, Nat. I wish I could give you something," Arthur mumbled as he started to unwrap the present.

She smiled, her indigo eyes sad. "Give me hope. It's all I want now... I wish I knew if my present got to Alfred... wish I knew if there was even someone there to give it to..."

Arthur nodded, feeling the same. He looked down at what he unwrapped. "_The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_," he read, looking back up at the Belarusian girl. "Thought you didn't like Rita Skeeter."

"This time I'm afraid she might have interviewed the right person. Look here." Nataliya took the book out of its wrappings and flipped to a page where there was a photo.

The photo was of a younger Dumbledore, his arms around the merry-faced thief who had stolen the Elder Wand from Gregorovitch. Arthur looked down at the caption.

"_Gellert Grindelwald_?" he hissed.

* * *

_Grindelwald was a fearsome Dark Wizard whose rise to power was timed with that of the Nazis. His reign of terror extended everywhere across Europe, terrorising wizards and Muggles alike. Allied with the Axis Powers, he resolved to eventually assassinate the Muggle dictators and thus impose Wizarding rule over all of Europe's Muggles._

_His revolution, called the Revolution, broke out in 1940. Based in Berlin with his Muggle allies, Grindelwald quickly had the German Ministry of Magic under his control. Poland was next to go, and then France. People predicted that Great Britain would be next to fall._

_But, contrary to prediction, Grindelwald avoided Great Britain. He feared his childhood friend, the skilled British wizard Albus Dumbledore, because Dumbledore knew his secrets and plans. Dumbledore knew that the Revolution centred around the Deathly Hallows, three mysterious artefacts that would enable someone to become Master of Death should he successfully manage to unite all three._

_Grindelwald already had one of them, the Elder Wand. It was unbeatable in a duel – to master it one had to murder the previous owner. With the Elder Wand, Grindelwald and his army dreamed and schemed for their new international Wizarding Empire._

_But by now, Dumbledore had realised that it was time to fight his friend – fight the boy he had fallen in love with so many years ago. In 1945, Dumbledore met Grindelwald in front of Nurmengard, the towering fortress just outside of Nuremberg that Grindelwald had constructed to hold his prisoners. They duelled, and Dumbledore emerged the victor._

_Now Grindelwald was a prisoner in his own prison, repenting for what he had done to his best friend and would-have-been lover._

* * *

Kiku was in Godric's Hollow once more, laying white chrysanthemums on Tristan and Islode Kirkland's snow-covered graves. After another long moment of looking at the inscription on the tombstone, he turned and left the cemetery.

"Dear Kiku," he read from a recently unfolded paper crane, the rest neatly wrapped up and stowed away in his robes.

_Dear Kiku,_

_It's dark here where I am. Everlasting darkness – well, until Nat comes around and provides some light. It's so easy just to pretend to be dead, and even easier to wish that one truly was dead. But I'm not, and I won't be because I'm living for the day when I finally get to see you smile again._

_You know, Kiku, the word 'if' is such a small word but it has such tremendous meaning. The phrase 'what if' opens up such a wide array of possibilities. What if the Death Eaters had never went to the tower that night? What if I had realised these feelings sooner? Maybe things would have been different. Maybe we could have had more time. _

_But in the end, things are always done for a reason, I suppose. Every move is just a little step forward in our stories. That's my philosophy, anyways. I wonder what yours is, and I wish you could tell me._

_Thinking of you,_

_Arthur_

Kiku smiled, looking up as he walked past the Potters' house. The sign was there, shining against the snow. He wandered along another quiet street, the cottages looking as if they were made of gingerbread. Inside, people were celebrating Christmas Day with family and friends.

He paused as he came to another house. It was darkened, and the door was hanging off its hinges. The upstairs windows were shattered.

He frowned, drawing his wand. Part of him was curious and wanted to investigate. The other part was cautious and reminded him that it could be a trap.

Curiosity kills kitties, so Kiku (after quickly looking around to make sure no one was watching) entered the house. The first thing he realised was that it stunk.

The second thing he realised was that there had been a fight in the house a long time ago. Furniture was scattered and destroyed; debris littered the floor like a shipwreck site.

The stairs were rickety under his feet despite the fact that he wasn't very heavy. Kiku tiptoed up the stairs, wand at the ready, wary of every other noise in the house. He entered a room upstairs, seeing at first a completely destroyed dresser with a mound of dirty clothes on it.

And then he saw the body.

* * *

There was a knock on Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks' door; Remus went to answer it, his wand at the ready.

"Kiku?" he asked. "Are you Kiku Honda? Tell me, who was your companion the night we fought over Little Whinging?"

"Alfred F. Jones," Kiku said immediately.

Remus stepped aside as the Japanese took off his shoes and entered the apartment. "How are you?" the werewolf asked.

"Lupin-san, you have to see this quickly," Kiku said, waving hello to Tonks, whose belly was swelled with child. "Konnichiwa, Tonks-san," he added to her; she smiled.

"Wotcher, Kiku," Tonks greeted. "What's the matter?"

"I was in Godric's Hollow earlier today," Kiku said, "And I came across a house that seemed to have been the site of a struggle. Upon entering the house –"

"Wait, wait, you entered a house that might have been attacked by Death Eaters?" Lupin asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"Hai, Lupin-san, but I had my wand out and the house was almost deserted – I say almost because there was the body of an old lady in the upstairs bedroom."

* * *

"Bathida Bagshot was interviewed for this book," Nataliya pointed out as Luna and Arthur flipped through _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_. "She was Grindelwald's great-aunt."

Arthur stared at the book in shock. "This... this is preposterous!"

"The letter, look at the letter," Nataliya urged.

Arthur silently read the letter featured in the chapter "The Greater Good". When he looked back up, his face was a mask of disbelief.

"I can't bloody believe... can't..." he stammered. "He..."

"He was friends with Grindelwald when he was younger, I know," Nataliya said quietly. "And somehow... I think he wished that he could have been more."

* * *

"Xenophilius Lovegood was arrested," Francis was saying as Kiku re-entered Bonnefois Villa, looking slightly shaken. It had been several days since he discovered the body.

"Kiku, where the hell have you been?" Madeline demanded from her seat next to Francis in the living room; Kiku felt rather awkward and he started backing out of the room.

"Come back in here!" Alfred exclaimed, pouncing on him and dragging him into the room despite Kiku's loud protests. "Were you on an adventure? Tell us!"

"No, don't encourage that, Alfred!" Madeline hissed. "He could have been inches away from death out there for all you know!"

"At least just tell us where you went off to," Francis reasoned.

Kiku glowered at them. "Godric's Hollow," he said shortly.

"Why?" Alfred demanded. "Last time we went Greyback was there!"

"I was putting flowers on Arthur's parents' grave."

* * *

Ludwig couldn't sleep.

Feliciano was curled up next to him in the bed. The Italian was naked, as usual, and Ludwig felt very, very awkward. The very thought made him blush furiously. He turned over, back to Feliciano, and stared at the clock.

It was well past midnight, and still sleep evaded him. Ludwig closed his eyes, hoping that will convince his body to let him sleep.

He was standing just outside Nuremberg, looking up at a dark fortress. It towered up above him like a series of jet-black spikes, a dark blot against the cheerful German town next to it. Nurmengard stood before him, its iron gate carved with the chilling message _Für das größere Wohl_ – For the Greater Good.

There was a dark creature flying up to the tallest tower. Ludwig frowned. Could it be Voldemort, the Dark Wizard who killed the Althauses? Judging by the sinking feeling in his gut, yes.

By virtue of the dream, Ludwig found himself soaring up to the tower as well. The window was too narrow for him to enter, but somehow he managed – just like the other man who was inside the room.

Lord Voldemort stood there, appraising a figure curled beneath a blanket. Gellert Grindelwald laid there, his body feeble, and shrunken. For a brief moment, Ludwig was moved by pity, but then he remembered that Grindelwald had been partly responsible for some of the most damaging battles and bombings in World War Two; he backed up against the window again.

Grindelwald opened huge sunken eyes and leered a toothless leer at Voldemort. "So you have come," he rasped. "I thought you would… one day. But your journey was pointless. I never had it."

"You lie!" spat Voldemort.

And part of Ludwig somehow knew that Grindelwald really was lying, that he sought to protect Dumbledore – the childhood friend who had encouraged some of his greatest and most terrible ideas, the young man he had fallen for, the wizard who defeated him with regret in his eyes.

Could things have been different between the two of them?

* * *

There was a loud bang in the cellar, causing Arthur to jolt awake. The bang was quickly followed by a loud scream – a horrible drawn-out scream that sent Arthur's hairs on end.

"HERMIONE!" someone bellowed. The voice was familiar and the name was familiar. "HERMIONE!"

"Be quiet!" another familiar voice hissed. "Shut up, Ron, we need to work out a way – "

"Bloody hell," Arthur called through the darkness. "Did they finally capture you three?"

"Arthur?" Harry's voice called back. "You're here?"

"I've been here since June; where have you been?"

"Long story," Harry said, even as Luna called through the darkness as well.

"Harry? Ron?"

"_Luna_?" Ron demanded, pausing in his screaming of Hermione's name.

"Yes, it's me! Oh no, I didn't want you to be caught!"

"Luna, can you help us get these ropes off?" Harry asked.

Arthur grabbed an old nail from next to the jug of water that Nataliya had left on her last visit. He crawled over to where the voices were and reached out.

"We have an old nail we use for these sorts of things," Luna said. "Arthur, do you have the nail?"

"Yeah," Arthur said, "but I need some light."

"My pocket," Ron said urgently, even as Bellatrix's voice echoed from above along with Hermione's screams. He was twitching and squirming, eager to get out of his bonds. "There's a Deluminator in my pocket; it's full of light!"

Luna reached for Ron and a few moments later the cellar was full of light.

"There are four of you?" Arthur asked as he started hacking away at their bindings.

"Yeah... Dean Thomas and Griphook the goblin," Harry said as Luna greeted Dean. Ron squirmed as Bellatrix threatened to run Hermione through with her knife.

Once the bindings fell away, Dean and Griphook muttered their thanks and slumped down onto the floor. Ron and Harry were racing around the cellar, trying to escape.

"The cellar's escape-proof," Arthur said quietly. "Ollivander tried everything when he came; he was here the longest." In the corner, the feeble form of Ollivander stirred slightly and went back to sleep.

"Arthur, you look horrible," Luna suddenly noted even as Hermione gave another dreadful scream. Arthur winced in pain, hating the sound and wishing he could go up and help Hermione.

"So do the rest of us," he choked out.

"Help us!" Harry was screaming to a mirror. "We're in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, help us!" Arthur frowned slightly, but he said nothing.

"How did you get into my vault?" Bellatrix screamed from up above. "Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"

"We only met him tonight!" Hermione sobbed. "We've never been inside your vault! It's not the real sword; it's a copy!"

"What sword?" Arthur asked as Harry raced to Griphook and whispered something in his ear.

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor," Ron replied hoarsely before resuming his bellowing.

"Stand back!" Draco's nervous voice resounded from behind the door. "Line up against the back wall. Don't t-try anything, or-or-or I'll k-kill you!"

They did as they were told, Ron extinguishing the light at the last minute. When the cellar door slammed closed again, there was a loud crack. Ron restored the light; Dobby the house-elf was standing there.

"DOB – !" Ron bellowed, but Harry hit him on the arm before he finished. Ron looked horrified.

"Harry Potter," the house-elf said, his voice quivering. "Dobby has come to rescue you."


	12. Requiem for a House Elf

**Notes:** HAPPY NEW YEAR'S IN ADVANCE~ Thar be Asakiku at the bottom - just a heads up.

* * *

**Part XII**

Kiku was scared.

"You are bloody _insane_!" Madeline was screaming at him, causing him to shrink away from her. "You could have been killed, hurt, captured, God-knows-what… what the _hell_ were you _thinking_?"

"Madeline-chan," Kiku began to say, but she shook her head.

"Non! There's no excuse for your reckless behaviour! I'd have expected it of Alfred but you of all people should know better!"

"Madeline, chérie, sois tranquille," Francis murmured, leaning forward with his hand on her arm, ready to restrain her if she lost control.

Madeline glared at Kiku but finally deflated, leaning back against Francis with a huff.

"At least he's still alive," Francis pointed out as he massaged Madeline's shoulders. "It's all that matters."

* * *

"Dobby, you can Disapparate out of this cellar, right?" Harry asked quickly. Dobby nodded.

"You can take humans with you, right?" Arthur pitched in eagerly, green eyes lighting up. Dobby nodded.

"Right. Dobby," instructed Harry, "I want you to grab Luna, Dean, Mr. Ollivander, and Arthur, and take them to... take them to..."

"Bill and Fleur's," Ron said immediately. "Shell Cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth." Dobby nodded.

Hermione's screams were getting worse and worse. Ron was looking up at the ceiling desperately, as if his gaze could cut through stone and help her somehow. Yet Arthur couldn't help but feel as if some balloon was expanding in his chest – a balloon of happiness. He was finally being rescued.

"What about you?" he asked Harry, who shook his head, smiling.

"We'll be fine. Dobby, after you've taken them there, can you come back?"

The elf nodded one more time. "Of course, Harry Potter." He walked over and took one of Ollivander's hands. Arthur grabbed onto his wrist and looked at Luna and Dean questioningly.

"Harry, we want to help you!" Luna beseeched. Dean nodded.

"Yeah, Harry, we can't leave you here."

"Go, both of you!" Harry hissed. "We'll see you at Bill and Fleur's." He clutched his scar. Arthur bit his lip.

"Harry, something wrong?"

"Yeah, he's coming back," the boy ground out, as Hermione screamed once more. "Go!"

Luna and Dean grabbed Dobby's fingers. Arthur squeezed his eyes shut as a loud _crack_ resounded and they spun forward into blackness.

* * *

"Kill me, then, Voldemort, I welcome death!" Grindelwald cackled, as Voldemort seethed in fury. "But my death will not bring you what you seek. There is so much you do not understand..."

Voldemort's features contorted into a mask of rage as Grindelwald laughed. "Do not underestimate me, Grindelwald," he snarled. "I will always know what you hide... in the end..."

"Mere bluffing!" crowed Grindelwald. "Silly boy, I was trying to take over Europe while you were still a pathetic little orphan at your Muggle orphanage! I have seen all that you have not seen, I have felt passions that you will never feel, and I have learnt everything that you refuse to understand!"

"Give me the location of the Elder Wand!" Voldemort snapped, pointing his wand at Grindelwald.

But Grindelwald merely chuckled a wheezing old chuckle. "Kill me, then!" he demanded. "You will not win, you cannot win! That wand will never, ever be yours –"

He never finished his sentence, because green light filled the tower room and Grindelwald was no more.

Ludwig awoke from his dream, feeling pains in his chest. He stared up at the ceiling and then at Feliciano, curled up next to him and probably dreaming of pasta.

* * *

Shell Cottage was a cosy little house on a cliff overlooking the sea. After seeing so much of the Malfoy Mansion cellar, Arthur took one look at the cottage and decided that it was the most beautiful building in the world.

"Arthur, is that you?" a voice asked. Fleur stood before him like an angel, concern etched all over her beautiful face.

Bill Weasley, tall and red-haired, bent down and helped up Mr. Ollivander. Fleur extended her hand towards Arthur, leading him up to the house.

They had Apparated in a straw-coloured meadow not too far away from the house. The grass was long and wild looking, pale against the stones of the cliff over a small pebble beach and the roaring sea. On the way up to the house, Arthur noted a garden where flowers and mosses grew in beds ringed by smooth stones.

Inside the house, Fleur led Arthur upstairs, rummaged around in a closet, and finally handed him a thick fluffy towel. "Go bathe," she said with a smile as she pointed towards the bathroom. "You look like you need it."

"Merci, Fleur," Arthur said, taking the towel.

When he appeared downstairs in the spare clothes that Fleur had laid out for him outside the bathroom door, he saw Bill tending to Dean and Luna's injuries while Fleur gently coaxed Ollivander upstairs as well.

"Anything we need to tend to, Arthur?" Bill asked with a smile as he finished healing Luna's cuts.

"Some scars on my back, I think," Arthur said, taking Ollivander's spot on the sofa with a slight groan. "But I'll manage for now."

Fleur came downstairs. "More people, Bill," she said tersely, tilting her head towards the back door leading to the garden.

The five of them headed towards the garden, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were. Harry was bent over a little body. Griphook the goblin lay next to Hermione, unconscious.

The black-haired wizard was mumbling something. As Arthur approached, he realised that Harry was saying a name repeatedly. He gasped in horror at what lay in the boy's arms.

"Dobby?" he asked, kneeling down to examine the body of the house-elf. A silver knife protruded from his chest. "Who did it?"

"Bellatrix," Ron growled, hatred evident in his voice. Hermione shuddered; Ron put a comforting arm around her.

"Ron, take 'Ermione inside," Fleur whispered. Ron complied. Dean knelt down and picked up Griphook, taking him inside as well.

"How are we going to bury Dobby?" Arthur wondered as Fleur hurried after Dean. Harry took the knife out of the elf and wrapped him in his jacket. He stood up, adjusting his glasses before looking back down at the body.

"I want to do it properly," he said after a while. "Not by magic. Have you got a spade?"

Bill nodded, going off to fetch him one. When he returned, he pointed to the far end of the garden. "You can bury him there."

Harry nodded and set to work. Night set in properly around him; Bill hurried Arthur into the house to mend the scars on his back. As soon as he was through, Arthur grabbed a spade and went out to help Harry.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Harry said as Arthur climbed into the hole and started digging.

"If I could help dig the graves of every single one of my brave, noble citizens, I would," Arthur replied. "It's the least I can do to repay Dobby for saving me."

Harry said nothing, but Arthur could tell that he was thinking similar thoughts. They dug on and on; by the time the grave was finished Arthur's hands were stinging with blisters. He didn't care.

"How's Hermione?" Harry asked Ron, who had come out with Dean sometime during the digging to help. Ron smiled.

"She's better," the Weasley said. "Fleur's looking after her." Perching on the side of the grave, Ron took off his shoes and socks and placed them on Dobby's feet. Harry wrapped Dobby tighter in his jacket. Arthur frowned, wishing that he could provide something as Dean placed a woollen hat on Dobby's head.

"A scarf," Luna's voice said quietly. She handed Arthur a little blue scarf; he wrapped it around Dobby's neck.

"We should close his eyes," he said after a moment, and Luna knelt down to close his eyes. Ron wrapped his arm around Hermione, who was in a dressing gown and looking rather unsteady. Fleur and Bill stood nearby, Bill in a travelling cloak and Fleur in a large white apron.

Harry placed Dobby into the grave, arranging his limbs. "I think we ought to say something," Luna murmured as he clambered out. "I'll go first, shall I?" She looked down at Dobby, addressing him. "Thank you so much, Dobby, for rescuing me from that cellar. It's so unfair that you had to die, when you were so good and brave. I'll always remember what you did for us. I hope you're happy now."

Arthur sighed, wanting to say something as well. "Yeah... um.. Thank you, Dobby," he said hesitantly. "It's been an honour to be... to be your Nation. I... I am indebted to you, forever and always."

The others looked at him oddly, but Arthur couldn't care less. Ron stepped forward, muttering his thanks. Dean followed suit.

"Goodbye, Dobby," Harry said hoarsely after Dean. Bill raised his wand, filling the grave.

Harry stayed by Dobby's graveside even after they headed back to the house.

* * *

"I got a letter from Fleur," Francis announced at breakfast one morning in April. Kiku looked over, but it was written in French and he couldn't read a word.

"What does it say?" Alfred asked through a mouthful of raspberry tart.

"Hello Francis, how are you... that sort of thing," the Frenchman replied, and Kiku turned his attention back to his cereal. "Attends, she says something about Arthur."

"What?" the Japanese demanded, his spoon dropping into the bowl and splashing him with milk.

"He's at her house," Francis said with a grin.

Kiku beamed, his smile muscles aching slightly from prolonged disuse. "Really?" he asked.

Francis nodded. "I'll go and pick him up tonight, if that's what you want." He winked at Kiku; Kiku turned bright red.

"Pervert," he grumbled. "But do bring him here."

* * *

"I've been in contact avec Francis," Fleur told Arthur at dinner. The Brit had been very surprised when she told him that it had _almost_ been a year since his capture. Time had been a snail during his captivity.

He smiled a little at the mention of a friend. "And what have you two talked about, might I ask?" he asked as she chopped up steaks for Bill and Griphook with a wave of her wand.

"You," she replied. "Francis will come and pick you up tonight. 'E ees going to take you to 'is 'ouse."

"Oh, that's good," Arthur said with a smile. He paused. "Not that your house isn't nice or anything but I always feel like I'm impinging on your hospitality."

"Arthur, eet ees not a problem," Fleur replied firmly. "You are always welcome 'ere, you 'ear zat?"

Arthur nodded.

Before dinner, Bill took Ollivander to Muriel Weasley's place. The whole Weasley family had gone into hiding there, according to Bill. Mr. Weasley was the Secret-Keeper for Muriel's house; Bill was Secret-Keeper for Shell Cottage.

"Francis put 'is 'ouse under ze Fidelius Charm as well," Fleur noted over dinner. She was barely touching her food, her eyes always darting over to the window as a storm brewed outside. "Zat ees ze reason why 'e ees taking you to 'is 'ouse, Arthur. Zat and ze fact zat 'e misses you."

"That's a bit rich coming from him," Arthur remarked, but there was a smile on his face.

After dinner, Fleur had just taken the dishes into the kitchen when there was a bang on the door. Everyone who had a wand drew them; Griphook slinked under the table.

"Who is it?" Bill called.

Two voices resounded. There was a pause, and then one started speaking again: "It is I, Remus John Lupin! I am a werewolf, married to Nymphadora Tonks, and you, the Secret-Keeper of Shell Cottage, told me the address and bade me come in an emergency!"

A second voice chimed in. "C'est moi, Francis Bonnefois! I am the personification of France and I have come here to pick up Arthur Kirkland, personification of England!"

"You didn't need to tell that to the whole world, you sodding git!" Arthur yelled, feeling wild happiness course through him at the sound of a familiar voice. Once again, the others shot him odd looks as Bill went to open the door.

Lupin and Francis were on the doorstep; Lupin nearly fell over the threshold. He looked around at them before announcing the news:

"It's a boy! We've named him Ted, after Dora's father!"

Arthur blinked; Hermione shrieked. "What? Tonks – Tonks had the baby?"

Arthur gaped as celebration broke out in the room. He sidled over to where Francis stood. "Something I missed, grenouille?" he asked Francis, jabbing his thumb at the others.

"Ouais, Sourcils. Lupin married an Auror, Tonks, and well, they got busy." Francis smirked. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I've got nothing to take, really," Arthur said with a sigh. Fleur detached herself from the jubilant crowd and came over; Arthur looked over her shoulder to see Lupin hug Harry.

"Stay a leetle longer, oui?" she coaxed with a smile. "Just a leetle wine in celebration!"

"One glass," Arthur affirmed, as Bill passed them goblets full of wine.

"To Teddy Remus Lupin," Lupin exclaimed as everyone held their goblets aloft in a toast, "a great wizard in the making!"

They drank, and Arthur set his empty goblet on the table, wrenching Francis' glass out of his hand as soon as it was empty. "We must go," he said with a smile. Fleur kissed him and Francis on both cheeks; Hermione hugged them. Francis turned bright pink as Ron coughed pointedly.

"Bonne chance, Harry," Francis added, as he opened the door. They left the house, wind whipping their hair as they walked away from the warmth and towards the boundaries of the Fidelius Charm.

"Kiku and Alfred are with you, yeah?" Arthur asked as they left the garden and the protection of the Charm.

Francis nodded. "Kiku might be staying up tonight. Now... think of Bonnefois Villa, on the outskirts of Nice. Do you have a wand?"

Arthur shook his head, so Francis extended an arm. Taking it, Arthur squeezed his eyes shut as they Disapparated.

* * *

Kiku looked out the window in the upstairs library, waiting for the moment when Francis and Arthur would appear. Several times, he had nearly fallen asleep but he desperately fought to stay awake. His face was pressed against the window; his breath fogged the glass.

Alfred and Madeline had long since gone to sleep and the house was eerily quiet. Kiku shivered slightly with anticipation, looking out at the stars.

His patience was rewarded as two people suddenly materialised out of nowhere just inside the gates of Bonnefois Villa. Smiling, Kiku left his post at the window.

* * *

Bonnefois Villa was unlit and peaceful in the moonlight as Francis unlocked the door and let them in. "Past midnight here, so everyone's sleeping," he explained apologetically as he closed the door. "Well, I suppose Kiku would be up; he took vigil in the library right after dinner." Francis yawned a little. "I'm off to bed, myself."

"Yeah..." Arthur said with a sigh. "Thanks, Francis."

"Hm? What for?" the Frenchman asked with another yawn.

"For taking me here. And I'm... I'm sorry for losing my temper with you almost a year ago. We'll be... well, we're not going to be enemies, are we?" He felt his face heat up as he said that and was thankful that the house was so dark.

"I should hope not," Francis replied with a shadow of his usual smirk. "Anyways, bonne nuit, Arthur." He trudged up the stairs; Arthur watched him leave.

"Arthur-san?" another voice asked as Francis's footsteps faded. Arthur's gaze darted to the other side of the staircase, where Kiku stood with his face pale but a smile on his face.

"Kiku!" he exclaimed, rushing up the stairs as the Japanese ran down. They met at the middle, Arthur stopping on a step below Kiku, one hand reaching out to touch his face.

Kiku's smile grew. "You're alive," he breathed. "And everyone else thought that you were dead..."

"But I'm not," Arthur pointed out with a smile. "I'm here. You're here. And that's all that matters."

And suddenly – Arthur had no idea who initiated it – they were kissing. Kiku wrapped his arms around him tightly, as if Arthur would disappear if he let go. The Brit responded by pressing his own lips against Kiku's more firmly, savouring the happiness that exploded all over his insides.

"I've missed you," he said as they broke apart, their foreheads meeting. Kiku smiled.

"And I, you," he whispered, resting one hand on Arthur's chest.

Smiling, Arthur took Kiku's hand and led him up the staircase. "Your room?" he whispered; Kiku giggled and pointed to a door.

Some unfinished business needed to be finished.


	13. Insert Sappy Title Here

**Notes:** This is the chapter with M-rated content. Don't like, skip ahead. You won't miss anything XD;;

**

* * *

Part XIII**

The first thing Arthur realised as he awoke was that he was somewhere warm and soft. Something was pressed against him – probably some_one_, since it was moving slightly.

Arthur was content to keep his eyes closed. Last night he had dreamt a wondrous dream where he was reunited with Kiku and... he felt himself grinning; his cheeks heated up.

The second thing he realised was that he didn't seem to be wearing clothing. Wait a minute. He was lying somewhere pressed up against someone completely naked? That didn't sound like his usual bedtime habits.

Arthur opened his eyes and looked into the sleeping face of Kiku Honda.

_So it wasn't a dream after all_...

He reached out and gently touched Kiku's nose, smiling like a curious little child. Had it really happened? Had it really been Kiku whose hands had touched him in ways that set him off to new heights?

Had he really taken Kiku in the early morning, when the sky was just lightening from velvety black to dark indigo?

Arthur kissed the Japanese's nose and eyelids, grinning when the other smiled in his sleep. He looked so angelic and vulnerable in slumber; Arthur wanted to hold him close and protect him.

Kiku opened his eyes as well, a blush rapidly appearing on his cheeks as he smiled sheepishly at Arthur. "Good morning," Arthur whispered to him, kissing him gently.

"That's the wake-up call I've always wanted to have," Kiku murmured, shuffling even closer. Arthur looked down into his dark chocolate-coloured eyes, content just to immerse himself in Kiku's gaze.

"Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are beautiful?" he asked almost conversationally, wrapping an arm around Kiku's bare torso underneath the covers.

Kiku blushed again. "Iie," he admitted, nuzzling against Arthur's right shoulder. "But yours are more beautiful."

"I don't think so," Arthur said with a chuckle as Kiku's legs intertwined with his. "I could get lost in yours forever."

He felt Kiku smile against his skin. "Last night was my first," the Japanese added bashfully.

"I was aware of that," Arthur replied, pressing a kiss to the top of Kiku's head. "How was it?"

"Everything I've ever dreamed of." Kiku looked up at him, his eyes filled with happiness and hope.

Happiness and hope were things Arthur hadn't seen in quite a while.

* * *

"Francis! Where's Artie?" Alfred demanded at breakfast.

"Upstairs avec Kiku," Francis replied calmly. "At least, that's where I think he is."

Alfred pouted, shoving his eggs around his plate with his bulldozer-like fork. "I want to see him," he complained.

"We all do, stupid," Madeline chided, sipping her orange juice. "Just be patient, all right?"

* * *

Arthur kissed a trail down Kiku's neck, loving the little moans the Japanese gave him.

"Like it?" he whispered against pale skin, tongue lightly tapping where his lips had just been. Kiku gave a shudder.

"H-hai, Arthur," he breathed, arching his body into Arthur's touch. The Brit smirked slightly, nipping and kissing along Kiku's collarbone.

Kiku moaned loudly, face blushing bright crimson as he rubbed against Arthur; Arthur kissed him fiercely, one hand reaching down between them to lightly touch the tip of Kiku's member. Stifling his own moan when Kiku's hand did the same, Arthur rubbed up against the Japanese, still kissing and stroking and rubbing until it was all just a blur in his mind.

Tension mounted inside him, spiralling upward with every single rub, kiss, and stroke. Kiku's hands were inexperienced but their touch felt almost magical against his body – it had been so long since he last felt these passions, these sensations and Kiku was going to bring him over the edge –

"Arthur!" Kiku cried, muffling a groan against Arthur's lips as he came. That set Arthur over the edge; he kissed Kiku back fiercely as the tension seemed to flow out of him – he had reached the peak and now he was falling, falling on waves of pleasure, his hands reaching back up to cup Kiku's face. The smallest of smiles graced his lips.

"I love you," he whispered, and Kiku's face lit up in a way that made him look irresistible.

"Aishiteru," Kiku whispered back as Arthur kissed him again.

* * *

"Honestly, why is it taking them so long to wake up?" Alfred demanded, standing up. "I'm going to go check on them."

"We'll come with you," Madeline said, pulling Francis to his feet.

"We don't need three people to wake up two," Francis pointed out, but the other two glared at him and he subdued, following them up the stairs. "I still think it's a bad idea," Francis muttered.

"Shut up," Alfred replied with a grin, knocking on Kiku's door. "Wakey wakey!"

* * *

Arthur stifled a curse against Kiku's shoulder when someone knocked on their door.

"What is it, Alfred?" Kiku called back, shifting so that he was facing the door, back pressed against Arthur's chest.

"Is Artie in there with you?" Alfred's voice came, muffled slightly by the door.

"Where else would I be?" Arthur called back; Kiku giggled slightly. Chuckling slightly, Arthur pressed a kiss to Kiku's throat.

There was silence before the door flew open. Alfred stood there, looking rather shell-shocked. Behind him was Madeline and Francis, Francis looking awkward for once.

"Good morning, Alfred," Arthur drawled as Alfred goggled at him. He wrapped his arms around Kiku, smirking.

Alfred frowned slightly. "I didn't get the memo about you and Kiku!" he exclaimed. "So that's why he's been acting even more depressed than the rest of us?"

"Alfred," Kiku chided. "Do take your mindlessness somewhere else."

The American pouted. "Well, now that we know that... uh, you two are awake... there's breakfast downstairs, you know."

"Thanks," Arthur mumbled as they closed the door.

* * *

The spring days spent at Bonnefois Villa with Kiku were like little dreams to Arthur. It felt amazing to be back – to be free to spend all his days in the sun with loved ones. The cellar seemed all but a distant nightmare now, when he could walk hand-in-hand with Kiku along the beach at Nice.

Kiku had returned to him his wand and the vial of Felix Felicis from more than a year ago. He also had something else – a stack of old papers that Dumbledore had left him.

"Dumbledore said in his will that they're the diaries of Odoacer of Germania," Kiku said as Arthur looked at the well-preserved parchment, fingers tracing over the runes.

"Did Dumbledore leave anyone else anything?" Arthur asked. "They might help."

"He gave Alfred some of Fawkes' tears," Kiku replied, blushing as Arthur put an arm around him. "And he gave me his glasses."

"May I see them?" Arthur queried, smiling at Kiku. The Japanese nodded, reaching for a little case.

The half-moon spectacles lay there, glinting in the sunlight through the library window.

"They buried Dumbledore with a copy of these glasses," Kiku said, holding them up to the light. "These glasses carry powerful magic all on their own. I think they're goblin-made or something."

"No, it seems more... well... it seems different from goblin-made objects," Arthur said, remembering the sword of Godric Gryffindor. "Goblin-made artefacts only attract things that will strengthen it. These..." he pointed to the scratches and stains all along the frame. "If these frames were made by goblins they would be in perfect shape."

Kiku nodded, biting his lower lip slightly. Arthur frowned, noticing that the scratches were actually markings.

"There's something carved on the frames," he said quietly, getting up from the desk and walking to the bookshelves.

"What are you looking for?" Kiku asked.

"A book on faerie magic."

* * *

"Faerie magic is very different from traditional witchcraft and wizardry," Arthur read from a book. "It is more grounded in the natural elements and focuses more on love and happiness. Faeries do not require wands to perform their spells – their magic is imbued in everything they make from their infamous wine to their magic mirrors. Nowadays two different creatures share the name of 'the fae'. The first are the insect-like fairies that like to be decoration in Wizarding dwellings. The second are the wise, skilled faeries of old who used to live all throughout Britain but are now confined to the wooded areas far from both Muggle and Wizarding eyes." He looked up, smiling at Kiku as if that was the answer to all their questions.

Kiku frowned in confusion. "Are you saying that... that these glasses were made by the faeries?"

"Perhaps," Arthur replied, putting them on and looking down at a page from Odoacer's diary. He blinked and then gasped. "I can read it!" he exclaimed. "I can read the diary!"

"What does it say?" Kiku asked, leaning on Arthur's shoulder and looking at the parchment. "It still looks unintelligible to me..."

Arthur frowned slightly at the words on the page. "Let's see... uh... there's something about his daughter Islode on this page. She's only fourteen, but she's moved to... to live with some bloke called Brennus and his children." He paused. "They're all Nations, I think. Islode lived with the Anglo-Saxon tribes... the date's sometime in the fifth century, when they moved to England."

"Brennus adopted her?" Kiku asked; Arthur nodded.

"In a way, I suppose." He flipped several pages. "She's died," he said after a moment. "Reborn as... as a child. This was after the Vikings sacked Lindisfarne in 793. Odoacer says that Islode's brother led the attacks."

Kiku's eyes went wide. "Her _brother_?" he echoed.

"Yeah." Arthur handed him the glasses. "He was the personification of the Scandinavian tribes that they called Vikings."

Kiku frowned as he read the entry. "But that doesn't make sense," he said after a moment. "She died and came back as a child. But you died once... and... you're not a child..."

"The Viking raids devastated the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms," Arthur pointed out, tapping the parchment. He didn't want to mention to Kiku that he had died _twice_. "That means that if a Nation is damaged almost irrevocably, they would die and be reborn as a child."

They turned their attention back to the story unfolding. "The dates all skip. I don't think Odoacer was any good about writing regularly," Kiku said.

Arthur looked at the dates. "That's true," he said after a moment. "But all of these entries are about Islode. I think Dumbledore just gave me the pages about her. She must be important somehow."

* * *

"You're late," Madeline noted as Arthur and Kiku shuffled into the dining room for lunch.

"We-we-we w-were reading s-something," Kiku stammered, blushing pink. Francis sniggered.

"Right," he said, winking. Arthur smacked him about the arm as he sat down. Kiku giggled.

"I wonder when Harry's going finally come out of hiding and fight Voldemort," Alfred complained as they ate lunch. Kiku was stabbing half-heartedly at his salad; Arthur was eating a grilled sandwich.

"I saw him at Bill and Fleur's," Arthur said after he had swallowed his mouthful of sandwich. "He's on a mission from Dumbledore with Ron and Hermione; they're looking for something."

"What are they looking for?" Francis asked.

Arthur shook his head. "Can't tell you," he said. Alfred pouted.

"Please, Artie? Please tell us!"

Arthur shook his head harder. "No; I swore silence."

Even as he said that, he suddenly felt a searing pain in his lower regions. "Arthur!" Kiku cried, noticing his expression of pain. Arthur clutched his stomach; his hands came away bloodstained.

* * *

Kiku was in hysterics.

"Arthur!" he screamed, catching the Brit as he toppled out of his chair. Francis carried him to the nearest couch; Kiku noticed with horror that Arthur's borrowed white shirt was rapidly turning crimson. "Arthur, don't die... dozo... what happened?"

"I don't know," Arthur gasped, green eyes desperate. "Someone help..."

Kiku shook his head. "I don't know what to do!" he cried hysterically. Madeline handed him a bottle of dittany; he smeared it all over the gash in Arthur's torso. It smoked and started to heal, but more blood was gushing out. Kiku felt tears roll furiously down his cheeks. "Please, Arthur, please hold on..."

He couldn't lose Arthur. Not now. Arthur's face was turning pale with blood loss already. If only they had something powerful... something with powerful healing properties... dittany wasn't working...

"Phoenix tears!" Alfred cried suddenly, descending down on Arthur and nearly knocking Kiku away. "Dumbledore left me some phoenix tears, remember?" He took out a vial from the folds of his robes, opened it, and placed a drop on the gash.

It worked like a miracle. Kiku gaped as the wound started to heal and colour seeped back into Arthur's cheeks. Francis waved his wand, clearing the blood from the couch.

"Thanks, Alfred," Arthur mumbled. He took Kiku's hand, squeezing it slightly.

And then, to Kiku's consternation, he passed out.


	14. The Call

**Part XIV**

"What did you say to me?"

Nataliya stood with the rest of the Warsaw Pact, her face pale but expression serious. All the Death Eaters were gathered together with Voldemort at the head, staring down at a hapless little goblin.

"Say it again," Voldemort hissed, malice lacing his voice like poison. "_Say it again_!"

"M-my Lord," the goblin stammered, staring at the Dark Lord's feet, "we... we t-tried t-to st-stop them... Im-impostors, my Lord... they broke... broke... broke into the... into the L-Lestranges' v-vault..."

"Impostors? What impostors? I thought Gringotts had ways of revealing impostors? Who were they?"

The goblin's eyes were wide with fear. "It... it was the... the P-Potter boy and t-two a-accomplices..."

Nataliya thought she had seen Voldemort at his most terrible when he punished the Malfoys and Lestranges for letting Harry and the others in the cellar escape. But now...

The Dark Lord's voice was high, tainted slightly with fear. His red eyes were wider than usual but still managing to convey anger. Nataliya felt herself shift slightly towards the exit.

"_And they took_?" Voldemort demanded. "Tell me! _What did they take_?"

The goblin gave a squeak of fright. "A... a s-small golden c-cup, m-my Lord..."

Green light filled the room and the goblin keeled over, dead at Voldemort's feet. The Death Eaters all scattered; Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy shoved everyone aside as they ran towards the door. Those who did not reach the sanctuary of the hallway were slain – Nataliya turned around at the door and saw Elisabeta Héderváry fall, her scream cut short by green light – she barged into the hallway, stabbing her way to safety.

She took refuge in an alcove, watching the Dark Lord stride by with his snake Nagini in tow. Voldemort looked preoccupied with something. What was it? Why was he so worried about that cup? Surely it was nothing of true value, was it?

But then why would Harry go out of his way to break into Gringotts and steal it?

* * *

Arthur was lying in bed with Kiku sitting in a chair at his side.

"Wonder when the call comes out to go back to Hogwarts," he said conversationally as he flipped through the pages of Odoacer's diary with Dumbledore's glasses perched on his nose. Kiku sighed.

"Arthur-san, please. I entreat you to not return to Hogwarts," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing Arthur's forehead. "You'll get hurt and you're not exactly as strong as you used to be before He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returned."

Arthur looked up at Kiku. "Duty to my school," he replied. "I failed to defend Hogwarts the night Dumbledore died. When the call comes... this time, I want to be there. I want to return and make up for what I did wrong."

Kiku looked at him beseechingly. "Please, Arthur. I can't stand to have you hurt again."

"And all I want to do is go and fight," Arthur replied as calmly as he can. "I don't want to be known as the Nation who stood aside and let himself be destroyed. If me getting hurt is all that it takes for Voldemort to be defeated, then I'm willing to make that sacrifice!"

"Why are you starting to sound like Alfred?" Kiku asked worriedly, taking his hand. "Arthur, please. I don't want to lose you. Not now."

"It's not about us, Kiku!" Arthur snapped, sitting up. "We're Nations, Kiku! Even if I stay now, in the end you'll still lose me if Voldemort triumphs!"

Kiku looked away, a resigned look on his face. "I don't want to fight with you, Arthur-san..."

"Then let me go. When the time comes, let me go. Please?"

"H-Hai..."

Arthur smiled, cupping Kiku's face in one hand. His lips brushed the corners of the Japanese's eyes, whisking away tears. "Good," he murmured, kissing Kiku's lips.

The Japanese sighed and closed his eyes.

* * *

Francis, Alfred, and Madeline were sitting listlessly in the backyard, their brooms lying on the ground beside them. They had just finished a very late game of two-on-one Quidditch – even that had lost its appeal after a while.

"Ouch!" Alfred suddenly cried. "Something's burning in my pocket!"

"You felt that, too?" Francis demanded, rifling around in his pocket. He pulled out a Galleon.

Madeline reached for her robes and pulled out her own, checking it. "We're fighting!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Alfred exclaimed, taking out his Galleon and looking at it. "Yeah, we are! Come on; we have to tell Artie!"

"Arthur's hurt; wouldn't it be better for him to stay away?" Francis wondered.

Alfred snorted. "I'll bet Artie's just itching to kick Death Eater ass. We totally need to bring him."

* * *

"It's nearly midnight!" Kiku cried in dismay. "Arthur needs his rest!"

"I've been resting for a good part of the day!" Arthur retaliated. He sent an imploring look at Alfred, as if begging the American to drag him along to Hogwarts even if Kiku told him not to go after all.

"But you were hurt again after dinner!" Kiku retorted. "I didn't expect the call to come _now_... it's _far_ too soon..."

Arthur clambered out of bed. "Kiku, I'm going to have to go whether you want me to or not," he said firmly, walking over to the closet to grab a set of robes. Flinging them on and grabbing his wand, Arthur turned to Alfred. "Where are we going, then? We can't Apparate into Hogwarts."

"The Hog's Head pub," Alfred replied, expression serious for once.

"Arthur, dozo," Kiku entreated.

"You can't stop me, Kiku." Arthur's voice was distant, detached. "If you're not coming, I'll understand. I love you; be safe."

He walked out of the room with Alfred.

* * *

The Hog's Head was a dingy little pub in Hogsmeade. But tonight it seemed to be open late, because as soon as the compressing darkness disappeared there was general commotion and it seemed as if everyone in the pub was trying to grab some part of him.

"You're back!" Ginny Weasley cried. "Did you see Kiku yet?"

"Welcome back, Arthur!"

"Hello, Arthur!"

The members of Dumbledore's Army – the ones who had left school plus Ginny Weasley – were all gathered in the pub. Arthur recognised them, but they had never interacted before. Thus he was slightly overwhelmed at the enthusiasm of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws who were hugging him, welcoming him back.

"Come on, come on," the bartender suddenly called, much to Arthur's relief. "I'm under instruction to send you lot into the castle. Let's go."

Led by the bartender, the members of Dumbledore's Army all walked upstairs to a sitting room, where an oil painting of a girl hung above the mantelpiece of a small fireplace.

The painting swung open to reveal a tunnel. "In case you didn't know, this passage leads to Hogwarts," the bartender said gruffly. The others started to clamber onto the mantelpiece and into the tunnel, saying their thanks to the bartender as they did so. Finally Arthur, Alfred, Francis, and Madeline were the only ones left.

There was a commotion back downstairs. The bartender left the room and suddenly came back with Ludwig and Gilbert Beilschmidt and Feliciano and Lovino Vargas. Kiku followed them, looking slightly nervous.

"I'd rather die by your side than not know if you were dead at all," Kiku said as he walked up to Arthur, taking the Brit's hands. Arthur smiled slightly, hugging Kiku.

All around them the other Nations climbed into the portrait hole, but Arthur held onto Kiku in an embrace, not knowing if he'd ever be able to hold him like that ever again.

"Come on, Artie!" Alfred called from the mantelpiece. Arthur broke away from Kiku, kissing him before climbing into the hole, one hand extended.

Smiling, Kiku grabbed it and they entered the tunnel.

* * *

Hogwarts glowed with lights from every window. Nataliya was overcome with a sense of familiarity as she looked at the castle. It was like coming home under orders to burn down said home.

"I don't want to do this," Yekaterina whimpered from next to her. Nataliya squeezed her sister's hand gently, tearing her eyes away from the castle to where Ivan stood with Bellatrix Lestrange at the head of the Death Eaters.

"We're doing this for Brother, remember," she whispered back. "Everything... we do everything for Brother. Remember, Kat? He saved our lives."

Yekaterina sniffled slightly. "I know he did..." she mumbled. "I just don't want to fight Matthew... if he's there, he'll be fighting us..."

"And I don't want to fight Alfred either," Nataliya reasoned. "But we promised Brother... all those years ago, remember?"

The Death Eaters entered the Forbidden Forest to prepare for battle.

* * *

"I know that you are preparing to fight."

Arthur unconsciously gripped Kiku's hand tighter as the students screamed and looked around for the source of the high, cold voice.

"Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts; I do not wish to spill magical blood."

There was a long silence after that. Kiku whimpered slightly. Arthur patted his shoulder and looked over at Alfred standing at the other side of the hall with the members of the Order of the Phoenix who had come to fight.

"Give me Harry Potter," continued Voldemort, and all eyes found Harry, standing there near the Gryffindor table. "Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. I shall leave the school untouched; you shall be rewarded. You have until midnight."

The voice faded, but silence still pressed in as they all stared at Harry. Then a girl jumped up at the Slytherin table.

"But he's there! Potter's _there_! Someone grab him!"

"You cow!" Arthur bellowed, stalking over to her with his wand drawn. Screw chivalry. He did not spend his entire Hogwarts career trying to prove that Slytherins were not all evil self-minded bastards just to have them disprove him. The spell of silence that hung over them was broken with his outcry; the Gryffindors all moved and stood with their backs to Harry. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws did the very same. Arthur glowered at the girl.

"My very life depends on Harry Potter. You dare defy your own nation? Stand and fight!" Arthur hissed in her face, jabbing at her neck with his wand. "You – all the rest of you – have been brought up with the age-old prejudice that you are all evil stinking cowards. You can defy that stereotype if you choose. Slytherin used to be a noble house, but the actions of every single one of its members has brought it a bad reputation. Defy that reputation. Stand up to the Dark Lord and fight."

"Thank you, Mr. Kirkland, Miss Parkinson," Professor McGonagall said crisply from the High Table. "Miss Parkinson, you will leave the Hall first with Mr. Filch. The rest of your house can follow."

Silently the students evacuated. Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors stayed behind, but Arthur noticed the empty Slytherin table. He bit his lip, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes.

"Come on, Arthur," Kiku said quietly, walking over and taking his hand. "They've made their choice."

The battle would soon begin.


	15. Fighting at Midnight Requires Caffeine

**Notes:** Getting this up in advance because 1) it's **the corrupted quiet one**'s birthday tomorrow 2) I'm not going to be on Friday or Saturday and 3) I felt like it. Besides, I'm sick. So yeah. I don't know what that signifies, but yeah.

Also, in case you've been living under a rock, the collection of BHL/ND drabbles are now up. I'm surprised that many of you want to read my stuff, lol. It's called _The Little Things_, and there's no chronological order to the drabbles. Feel free to prompt me with drabbles because I'm basically writing these as I go along. The drabble winner guys back in BHL (I KNOW I'VE BEEN HORRIBLE ABOUT THESE), I'm thinking of sticking your drabbles into that compilation because it just works better for me to have one frame of mind for these things. And it's not too far from what I'd write otherwise, so yeaaaaah~

**

* * *

Part XV**

"We've only got half an hour until midnight," Kingsley Shacklebolt announced gravely at the High Table, "so we need to act fast. A battle plan has been agreed between the teachers of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix."

Arthur found himself leading several Gryffindors out into the grounds. Kiku, Francis, and Alfred were with him, their wands drawn. They squeezed their way through the crowd in the Entrance Hall, out the oak doors, and onto the lawn. A little ways away, Remus Lupin was marshalling Hufflepuffs.

"Right, the half-hour before the battle begins is dwindling," Arthur said as Alfred and Kiku arranged the Gryffindors into a small battalion. "You all know your basic duelling spells, correct?"

There were nods. "Awesome!" Alfred exclaimed. "We'll definitely kick their asses; we're heroes!"

Arthur rolled his eyes, but he smiled slightly. Kiku took his arm, looking out towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Where do you think they are?" he asked.

Arthur was about to reply, but he was drowned out by a loud keening scream in the distance.

Midnight had arrived.

* * *

Nataliya shot curses left, right, and centre with the rest of the Death Eaters as they advanced towards the castle. Next to her, Yekaterina had tears in her eyes as she aimed a Killing Curse at a little Gryffindor.

The Gryffindor keeled over, looking tiny in death. His body was quickly obscured as the battle begun in earnest, as more skilled wizards came out and engaged them in combat.

There was Francis; he was all but a streak of golden hair and coloured sparks as he duelled with Hue Nguyen. Nataliya dodged spells and curses from defenders on the castle battlements, looking for familiar faces. Where were her friends? Where were her foes?

"_Impedimenta_!" someone yelled, and Nataliya's heart nearly stopped. That voice was familiar.

"Alfred?" she called, but the commotion around them drowned out her voice.

* * *

Alfred looked on, horrified, as Hue slashed at Francis's chest with something that looked like black fire. The Frenchman fell to his knees, face contorted in agony.

"_Stupefy_!" Alfred cried, but Hue dodged him, sending a curse his way. Alfred blocked it, summoning up a fiery lasso and whirling it back at her.

The lasso wrapped around her, but she extinguished it with her wand. Her ponytail whipped the air as she sent daggers flying his way; he Vanished them. Their spells grew more and more potent as the two duellers danced a dangerous tarantella around the other, coloured light flying every which way.

The castle shook behind them like a leviathan awakening from its slumber. Startled by the noise, Alfred faltered slightly.

Hue slashed at him with black fire.

Alfred couldn't get out of its way in time.

* * *

"I, like, totally don't want to fight," Feliks Łukasiewcz muttered, twirling his wand idly.

"Come on, Feliks, the Dark Lord told us to," Toris Lorinatis pleaded, tugging at him. "We've got to fight. I don't want to do this any more than you do, but we've been ordered to do this."

"Like, totally screw that," Feliks replied.

"Disobeying orders?" a third voice interjected. It was Ivan. Toris paled.

"N-no, Ivan! W-we were going to go fight!"

"I'm totally sitting this one out. I'll, like, break a nail otherwise," Feliks cut in. Toris bit his lip, his eyes wide and worried.

Ivan smiled disturbingly. "Feliks, you know I'll have to kill you for that, right?" he asked cheerily. The purple aura surrounded him; Toris and Feliks backed away.

"Ivan, please don't," Toris said quietly.

"_Avada Kedavra_," Ivan replied.

Feliks fell to the ground.

* * *

Arthur screamed in anger as he slashed at Fenrir Greyback, hatred colouring his face as he sent curses at the werewolf.

"That's for separating Kiku and me," he snapped, as a ball of purple fire engulfed Greyback; he howled and tried to extinguish it. "And that's for attacking Kiku at Godric's Hollow," he added as silvery ropes bound Greyback from head to foot. "And that –" Greyback whined as silver daggers flew at him "– is for threatening Hermione!"

He stood back, looking smug as the spells started to overwhelm the werewolf. But suddenly he doubled over; the liquid fire of pain filled his chest. Arthur gave a cry, falling to the ground. The spells vanished and Greyback sprang on him, all sweat and stench and blood –

"_Petrificus totalus_!" someone shouted. Greyback froze in place; Arthur shoved him off to see Kiku, very white-faced and nervous. "A-Arthur, a-are you a-all right?"

Arthur clambered to his feet. The castle shook as if it was caught in an earthquake. A giant thundered by, squishing Death Eaters.

"Th-that's G-Grawp," Kiku said worriedly. "Hagrid's half-brother."

There were screams as more giants appeared.

"And those are Voldemort's giants," Arthur added. "We need help."

* * *

Nataliya found Alfred next to Francis; she gave a cry and knelt down next to him. "A-Alfred!" she breathed in horror, scrabbling to feel for a pulse.

The American stirred slightly as she touched him. "N-Nat?" he asked, opening an eye.

She nodded. "I'm here, Alfred…" she whispered. "Are you all right?"

Alfred shook his head. "H-hurts… my chest hurts," he whimpered, squeezing his eyes closed. "H-Hue's black fire spell… she got Francis with it as well…"

Nataliya kissed his forehead. "I'm not supposed to do this to you," she said quietly before kissing him on the lips.

Alfred smiled against her lips anyways.

* * *

Ludwig shot a curse at an advancing Death Eater; he keeled over and fell to the ground, Stunned.

"What's that?" Feliciano screamed as he deflected curses with his white flag. Ludwig followed his gaze; his heart jumped into his throat.

"Acromantulas," the German hissed, his face pale. "Giant spiders. They're… they're probably on You-Know-Who's side."

Feliciano whimpered. "Save me!" he wailed.

"Take that, bastard spiders!" Lovino hollered at the same time, shooting curses at the Acromantulas. They glanced off of the spiders; Lovino screeched and ran off.

"Lovi, where are you going?" Antonio Carriedo called after Lovino, hurling another tomato at an oncoming Death Eater.

* * *

Gigantic spiders filled the Entrance Hall. Madeline screamed, aiming Impediment Jinxes at the spiders as they advanced towards the fighters inside the rumbling castle.

She took refuge behind a suit of armour and then dived out of a broken window. Where was Francis? Her heart pounded loudly in her ears and her palms were slick with sweat.

Racing through the battlefield in front of the castle, Madeline looked desperately for Francis. She saw Nataliya and Alfred; the Belarusian was helping the American to his feet. Next to them was someone familiar.

"Francis!" The Frenchman opened an eye and smiled wanly at her.

"Madeline," he whispered, and Madeline thought she felt her heart break at his voice.

* * *

Arthur watched, horrified, as two giants met in combat up near the castle doors.

"We need to get you to safety," Kiku whispered. "This is getting too intense for you, Arthur-san. You need to rest."

"Kiku, I can't," Arthur cried. "We need to help them! Hogwarts is falling. If only…"

He looked towards the forest. "There are unicorns in the forest," he said quietly. "And with the unicorns live the faeries…"

"You're thinking of bringing faeries into the fight?" Kiku asked. "Arthur, please, that's preposterous…"

"If they won't fight, I'll at least ask them if they can tell us how to win the battle," Arthur replied gravely, leaning his head on Kiku's shoulder. "Maybe they can convince the centaurs to fight as well…"

Kiku shook his head. "Arthur, please. We've lost. It takes bravery to stand up, but it also takes bravery to fall and submit. I wish you knew that."

"This isn't the time to fall and submit," Arthur said quietly. "People are dying for Harry, dying for me…" Even as he said that, he felt another stab of pain in his side. "Their deaths should not be in vain."

* * *

"You have fought valiantly," Lord Voldemort's voice rang through the air. "Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery."

Alfred frowned as he recognised the voice. Next to him, Nataliya tensed.

"Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one."

Lovino and Antonio dodged a giant's punch as they ran down the seventh-floor corridor, seeking refuge.

"I do not wish for this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste."

In the calmer, shadowy side of Ravenclaw tower, Ludwig held Feliciano close. The Italian sobbed into Ludwig's chest.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

Madeline stroked Francis's hair; Francis's eyes filled with tears.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you and punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

Kiku squeezed Arthur's hand reassuringly, his eyes sorrowful.

"He's not going to turn himself in," Kiku assured. Arthur shook his head.

"He will," Arthur replied, looking back at the castle. "I've seen him put his own life on the line so that others can be safe. Dying to save his friends sounds like something he'd do." He kissed away Kiku's tears. "I admire his bravery…"

"Arthur, are you seriously going to go find the faeries?" the Japanese said after a moment.

Arthur nodded. "It's worth a shot," he said. "Dumbledore had a faerie friend. Her name was Erised… she had a magic mirror and I think she made his glasses. I need to find her."

Kiku shook his head. "What if you can't find her?"

"Then I'll return." Arthur took a package out from the folds of his robes. "I need answers and I think she has them."

"Be careful, Arthur," Kiku whispered, kissing him gently. Arthur nodded, putting the package back and concentrating on his transformation.

A lop-eared, thick-browed rabbit ran into the Forbidden Forest; Kiku watched it with tears in his eyes.

* * *

The defenders of Hogwarts used Voldemort's respite down to the last second.

"Aren't you a Death Eater?" someone asked Nataliya as she supported Alfred into the Great Hall, where the wounded were being tended to. Following her were Francis and Madeline, Francis looking shaken.

Nataliya said nothing as Alfred took a seat at the table that had been designated as a field hospital. Madam Pomfrey bustled over, administering potions and spells to the numerous wounded people.

"What's the death toll?" she asked Hermione Granger, who had walked by hand-in-hand with Ron Weasley.

The girl looked at her sorrowfully. "I don't know." Her eyes flickered to the side of the Great Hall where people were congregating around bodies.

Nataliya stood up, patting Alfred on the arm as she walked over to the bodies. She looked at each of the faces of the dead, wondering if she could name them all. She couldn't, and for that she was glad.

A tall, dark-skinned girl sobbed next to her. She was looking at the body of Fred Weasley, smiling peacefully up at the ceiling. Next to him lay Remus Lupin, looking so young and relaxed that she almost didn't recognise him. Next to him was Tonks, her hair bright pink even as death claimed the colour in her cheeks.

Nataliya felt the sting of tears. They trickled down her cheeks as she saw a tall young man bring in the body of the Gryffindor Yekaterina had regretfully killed. Sobbing, Nataliya hid her face in her hands.

* * *

"I don't want to fight anymore," the little girl cried. Ginny Weasley took her hand, running soothing circles around the back.

"It's going to be all right," she said, her voice breaking in the process. "It'll… it'll be okay… don't cry." Looking around, she could have sworn she heard someone walk by, but she shrugged it off. Ginny dared not to hope that it had been Harry, that Harry had been there.

Kiku Honda came walking towards them, his face shining with tears. "Where's Arthur?" Ginny asked him, looking at him sympathetically.

"Forbidden Forest," Kiku said quietly. "He's going to get help."

"Is there help?" Ginny asked, her voice despairing. "Who will be there to help us now?"

Kiku knelt down and patted the sobbing girl on the shoulder. "I don't know," he admitted.

* * *

The rabbit tore through the Forbidden Forest, not knowing where to go but just hoping he'd get somewhere. The scents of the forest threatened to overwhelm him, but he kept to his path.

The forest was starting to look familiar. He passed by part of the lake, the spot where Dementors had gathered four years ago to attack Harry and Sirius Black. Arthur paused to sniff at the ground. There was a scent. There was the scent he had been hoping to find.

Arthur followed the scent, diving off the path and racing through trees in a mad scramble to get to the source. He came across a clearing – the very same clearing he had found four years ago.

The very same unicorn was standing there, looking at him almost expectantly. Déjà-vu overwhelmed Arthur, but he bounded up to the unicorn, nuzzling it. The unicorn whinnied and tossed its tail. It began to walk out of the clearing, pausing at the edge as if expecting Arthur to follow it.

Arthur did. They wandered through the forest, the unicorn lighting an unknown path with a faint silvery glow. Darkened trees towered overhead, but Arthur didn't falter. As long as he was near the unicorn, he would be fine.

They wandered deep into the forest, approaching a speck of light in the distance. The speck grew bigger and bigger until it lit up the trees around it. It was a fire, and what seemed to be millions of little lights were dancing around it in a ring.

A faerie ring.

Arthur stepped into the clearing with the unicorn. Several specks of light flew towards him, cooing.

"Who are you, little rabbit?" one asked.

"You are so adorable!"

"We'll have to keep you as our pet, you know."

The unicorn snorted. Arthur glared at it.

"Don't harass the poor rabbit," a fourth voice piped up, and suddenly the faeries all became quiet. Arthur blinked as a royal blue speck flew towards him. Little feet landed on his head. "I have been expecting this rabbit for quite a while."

"Erised, is it him?" several others cried.

Arthur tensed. Erised, the speck on his head, walked towards his ear. "Show yourself," she whispered.

But at that moment, a flood of agony overwhelmed Arthur and he found himself involuntarily transforming back into human form, gasping in horror.

Harry had sacrificed himself.

* * *

**Notes:** NUUUUU HARRY. ;A;

Anyways, I've incorporated elements from the Cold War into these last few chapters. There was the suppression of a Polish rebellion - branch-off of the Hungarian revolt in 1956... and the Vietnam War... hmmmmm and also Marshall Aid granted to Great Britain (and the other European nations, but I focused it on Artie)...

Yeah, this chapter's a bit surreal at the end. Just bear with me. Anything with Arthur in it is bound to include faeries. XD;;


	16. Dramatic Relationships Run in the Family

**Notes:** Short chapter... I'M SORRY ;A; The original chapter here was way too long so I had to cut it in two. Part two comes tomorrow at the earliest XD;;

**

* * *

Part XVI**

Arthur woke up to the smell of musty forest. It was still dark; the fire nearby dyed the trees a dancing golden-red.

"Harry…" he choked out, clutching at his chest. "He's gone…" It was true; he knew it without seeing it.

The Boy Who Lived was dead.

"Shush…" a gentle voice said, and Arthur looked into the face of a beautiful lady. She bore a likeness to Morgana le Fay, the sorceress of Arthurian times. Long silvery hair cascaded down her back, contrasting with royal blue robes. Her grey eyes sparkled with wisdom and age. "He's not dead yet."

"B-but how?" Arthur asked, as she took his hand. "I felt his death!"

She nodded. "You did. But Harry was Voldemort's seventh Horcrux."

Arthur sat up. "That's possible?" he asked hoarsely.

"Indeed." The woman stood up, helping him up as she did so and walking towards the fire. The unicorn was resting near the fire; several faeries were asleep on its back. "The night Voldemort killed the Potters, a part of his soul was blasted into Harry. That explains why Harry is a Parselmouth and can look into Voldemort's mind."

Arthur nodded, looking into the depths of the flames. "You're Erised, aren't you?" he asked after a moment. The faerie nodded.

"This is my larger form when I wish to consult with humans," she said solemnly. "Although I rarely choose to do that. Muggles and Wizards alike have driven us faeries into hiding. Soon our colony will die out as well." Her expression was resigned; she looked weary and aged. "I do not wish to fight the inevitable."

"You sound like Kiku," Arthur noted. She raised an eyebrow and he looked away, blushing. "Sorry I said that."

"No need to apologise, England." Her eyes shone with warmth. "I've been longing to see you again."

Arthur looked at her, fascinated. Erised looked off into the stars. For a moment they could pretend that there was no battle outside their clearing, that Harry Potter was dead and that Arthur's loved ones were probably dying.

"Your mother, Islode, moved into your grandfather's house a long time ago, when the Anglo-Saxon tribes were just beginning to invade Great Britain. At first she and your father, Tristan, didn't get along, but gradually they learned to live alongside each other despite cultural differences. That eventually led to their marriage."

"And when was I born?" Arthur asked curiously, but Erised smiled.

"Your brother Arawn was born first," the faerie recounted. "But he ran off when your mother died during the Lindisfarne attacks. Islode was reborn as a child with no memory of her past; it was painstaking for Tristan to watch her grow again. She had to rediscover her Nation self, had to recover her love for Tristan. He was heartbroken and came to me for help.

"I gave him a spell that would make her fall in love with the first person she sees, but he dared not use it on her. However, her curiosity led to her discovery of this spell and love was reborn in her heart. The romance began once more, but this time it was too late. Tristan was weakening – Islode was losing him right before her eyes.

"She had two more children – you and Peter – before dying. Your uncles, the fathers of Erin and Liam, took you and Peter in and raised you until their deaths. From then on, your cousins – although I think you call them siblings – brought you up. I was there often; I tried to be a mother figure to all of you. But the faeries were being pushed to extinction and to take you into hiding would be unwise for your education.

"I travelled to the house of your mother's father and recovered his diaries, intending to keep safe the secrets of the Nations. My forest was soon settled by four great wizards and witches intending on building a school of magic. Previously, those who wished to learn magic went to Ireland. This was no longer the case. With Hogwarts, magic became institutionalised. I immediately provided for your family's magical education, telling the Founders your secrets.

"They were immensely interested and sought out all the Nations in the world, intending on educating all of them. This is why all Nations have had their names down for Hogwarts for centuries. It did not matter that Nations could die and be reborn as children – every time that happened they would simply return to Hogwarts to relearn their skills and recover their memories."

Erised's eyes closed; Arthur gazed at her from his seat.

"Dumbledore said you were his friend. You lent him your Mirror."

"Ah, so you know about my mirror?"

Arthur nodded. "It shows onlookers their deepest, darkest desires."

"Indeed." Erised looked off into the distance, obviously remembering why she had to create the mirror in the first place. Arthur didn't press for details.

"Do you still have it?" he asked after a moment. Erised nodded.

"Come, you must look into it again," she said gently, standing up. Arthur did so, taking out the parcel from the inside folds of his robes.

"Here. It's Odoacer's diary entries on Islode and Dumbledore's glasses," he said, handing it to her. "You ought to keep them, even if they're about my mum."

She smiled, taking the parcel. "Thank you, Arthur. I should give you something in return, then."

They walked into the shadows of the trees, Erised guiding the way. In an adjoining clearing stood the mirror, looking very out of place.

"I call this clearing my study," Erised said, and suddenly the clearing glowed with brilliant spheres of floating light. "And behold... my masterpiece."

Arthur walked up to the mirror, touching cool glass as he looked inside. His breath hitched in his throat.

He saw himself, bathed in light from the forest. But standing with him was Kiku, smiling at him with a little girl in his arms. She waved at him – he recognised her as the little girl from his dreams.

"Is that all you desire now, Arthur?" Erised asked, breaking the spell of the moment. Arthur turned around to look at her.

"It's all I'll ever want after Voldemort falls," Arthur replied quietly.

She smiled at him. "True love is a noble cause, a noble desire," she said, her voice enigmatic. Walking over to a tree, she came back with a little box. Inside it was an ornately carved silver ring. "This was the token your father gave your mother in honour of their betrothal. It should be yours now."

Arthur nodded, smiling as he took the ring and pocketed it. The smile faded as he heard the sound of marching Death Eaters and giants. "The battle," he gasped, having almost forgotten it. "Will you help us?" he asked, looking at her beseechingly.

Erised nodded. "Love is something worth fighting for, Arthur."

* * *

"It's been more than an hour," Kiku said after a moment. "Does that mean…?"

"Oh no!" Ginny cried suddenly, bursting into tears as she realised the implications of the added peace. "Harry!"

Kiku held onto her as she sobbed violently into his shoulder. Nataliya gave a little wail and buried her face in Alfred's chest. Francis held his face in his hands, his shoulders racking with sobs.

"It might not be Harry's death –" Alfred started to say, but he was cut off by Voldemort's magically magnified voice.

"Harry Potter is dead."

Everyone in the Great Hall froze at that; Ginny sobbed even harder into Kiku's shoulder.

"He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone."

"No!" Alfred cried, his face white with horror. Francis looked up, tear tracks glistening in his cheeks. Gilbert Beilschmidt and Antonio Carriedo sat down next to him, patting his back comfortingly.

"The battle is won," Voldemort continued. "You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together." There was silence after that, silence that pressed horribly upon Kiku's eardrums and heart.

"Ve, it can't be," Feliciano Vargas whimpered. "He can't be dead, ve!"

"I'm sorry, Feli," Ludwig whispered, burying his face in Feliciano's auburn hair. The Italian bawled, vocalising Kiku's thoughts with his sobbing.

"No… it can't be… I don't want to believe…"

"Let's go outside, see for ourselves…"

The defenders of Hogwarts filed out of the castle to see for themselves.

* * *

Arthur rode through the forest on the back of the unicorn, the smaller version of Erised sitting on his shoulder. The rest of the faeries followed him.

"Bane," Erised said quietly as they approached the centaurs. "Will you fight with us?"

The centaur nodded. "Harry Potter is dead; we must avenge him. It disheartens us that we must fight in honour of a human, but if we do not, his adversary will make sure that we meet extinction. You surely must understand."

"I do," Erised replied. "We will fight together, for Harry, for freedom, and for love."

The centaurs nodded.

They marched through the forest.

* * *

Notes: I KNOW, THE CORNY. IT BURNS. ;A; BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WITH FAERIES.

Tristan and Islode Kirkland have no real relation to the Tristan and Islode of Arthurian mythology - although now that I come to think of it, hurhurhur. I just took their names because 1) Islode does use that magic potion and falls in love with Tristan and 2) They're a bit of a bittersweet couple like the original.

Another poll on my profile. Take it, s'il vous plait. It's about whether or not I should write a whole _Behind the Scenes_ thing for BHL and ND, since I did do a crapload of research for something that was a midnight musing and I was wondering if you guys were curious about the process behind these two fics (AND I WANT TO SHOW OFF JUST HOW MUCH OF A NERD I AM). If you have a more in-depth explanation for your vote, please tell me in review or something. Thank you.


	17. Nataliya's Moment of Truth

**Part XVII**

Elisabeta Héderváry woke up to blackness, inside Malfoy Manor. The lack of people astounded her; she suspected that they had all gone off to Hogwarts, to the final battle.

She Apparated to Hogsmeade, where people were gathering in the middle of town.

"Are you off to fight the Dark Lord?" she asked, tugging on someone's robes. He turned around. "Feliks!"

"Like, oh my gosh, it's you!" Feliks grinned and hugged her. "I was totally wondering why you didn't, like, show up earlier!"

"But are we going to fight?" the Hungarian girl demanded.

Feliks nodded. "The Dark Lord totally killed Harry Potter. It's like, totally not fair now. So I'm going to totally, like, fight. Even if I like, break a nail and mess my hair."

Elisabeta giggled. She looked to the man standing next to her. "Roderich!" she exclaimed in pleasant surprise. "I thought you went back to Austria!"

"I return to do duty to my school," Roderich replied stiffly.

"We will return to Hogwarts, aru!" Yao Wang called from his spot next to Charlie Weasley on a raised platform. "We must fight against the Dark Lord, aru!"

Everyone cheered.

* * *

The Death Eaters stood on the lawn before Hogwarts; Nataliya feared them now. She had defied orders to return to Voldemort's side, defied her brother's calling.

And even after all he had done for her… Nataliya bit her lip, looking at Alfred. He smiled reassuringly, tears in his eyes.

They walked out to meet the Death Eaters with the rest of the defenders.

Sure enough, the news were true. Harry lay limp in Hagrid's arms; Hagrid was weeping. There was a scream of anguish; Nataliya looked to see Professor McGonagall, her face a mask of horror and sadness. Bellatrix Lestrange cackled opposite her.

"No!" Alfred breathed, as Ron and Hermione cried the same thing.

"Harry! HARRY!" Ginny wailed. Nataliya's eyes filled with tears and she tore her gaze away from Harry's body to look at the rest of the Death Eaters.

The Warsaw Pact stood there, looking nervous and unsure of themselves. Only Ivan remained confident, standing next to Voldemort with his scarf blowing in the slight breeze. Nataliya couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. All around them, the defenders screamed and yelled at the Death Eaters.

"SILENCE!" Voldemort bellowed. There was a bang and a flash of light, and the defenders' voices fell silent. "It is over! Set him down at my feet, Hagrid! Set him down where he belongs!"

Hagrid gently laid Harry down onto the grass. Nataliya bit her lip as Alfred squeezed her hand tighter, as if he was trying to hold in his anguish.

"You see?" Voldemort jeered. "Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"

"He beat you!" Ron yelled, breaking the spell once more. It took another powerful Silencing Charm to quiet the mob once more.

"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds," Voldemort hissed with relish, and part of Nataliya knew it was a lie. "He was killed while trying to save himself – "

"You lie!" Nataliya and Alfred screamed simultaneously, as Neville Longbottom broke out of the line of defenders and charged at the Death Eaters.

There was a gasp in the Warsaw Pact section as Nataliya stepped forward with Neville, staring defiantly at her brother and his master.

"I will not fight for the Death Eaters," Nataliya said quietly, "Not when they threaten the lives of those I love. Brother, I saved your life once; do you not remember? I loved you, Brother, because you were all I had left."

"Nat," sobbed Yekaterina from her spot next to Toris Lorinatis. "Please, please don't end up like Feliks…"

Nataliya shook her head, even as a Disarmed Neville stood up and looked bravely towards the Death Eaters.

"Nataliya, you are a fool," Ivan said quietly. He glared over her shoulder at Alfred.

"I'm done playing the fool to you," Nataliya replied. Voldemort looked at her, hatred in his eyes.

"I have no use for disloyal subjects. _Avada Kedavra_."

Nataliya fell to the ground, not hearing Alfred's cry of dismay.

* * *

"Who is this?" Voldemort hissed at Neville, kicking aside Nataliya's body as he walked towards Neville. Kiku gritted his teeth. "Who has volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?"

"It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord!" Bellatrix cackled from his right-hand side. "The son of the Aurors, the one who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble!"

"Ah, yes, I remember him," Voldemort said, looking down at Neville who stared back at him with his hands in fists. "But you are a pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?"

"So what if I am?" Neville demanded.

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."

Ginny's hands clutched Kiku's shoulder tighter as Neville stared at Voldemort. Kiku watched them, a sinking feeling of horror in his stomach.

"I'll join you when hell freezes over," snapped Neville. "Dumbledore's Army!" he cheered, and everyone answered.

"Very well," Voldemort whispered silkily, somehow managing to extinguish the cheer without raising his voice. "If that is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan."

Suddenly something flew out of a window and into Voldemort's hand. It was the ragged old Sorting Hat, looking very ragged and old indeed.

"There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts School," Voldemort whispered. "There will be no more Houses. The emblem, shield, and colours of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom?"

He then placed the Sorting Hat onto his head and set it aflame.

Kiku screamed, his scream echoing with those of other onlookers. And then far off in the direction of the forest, as the blackness of night lightened into indigo, a massive army of centaurs appeared. In their midst was a pure-white unicorn; it whinnied loudly, rearing up magnificently as the centaurs charged, yelling war cries. Little colourful balls of light zoomed towards the Death Eaters with the centaurs; Grawp lumbered around the side of the castle and engaged Voldemort's giants in battle once more. The Death Eaters scattered as arrows filled the air and the ground trembled with the giants' battle.

Neville broke free of the Body-Bind Curse. The Hat fell off and he drew from its depths a sword with a glittering, rubied handle. Kiku gaped as Neville slashed the blade through the air, slicing off the head of Voldemort's snake. It spun through the air – Voldemort screamed in fury – and the snake's body fell at his feet.

"Harry!" Kiku gasped. The Boy Who Lived was there no more. He stumbled forward as battle recommenced; a Shield Charm erupted between Voldemort and Neville.

"HARRY!" Hagrid shouted. "WHERE'S HARRY?"

The Death Eaters fled from the faeries and the centaurs; the proud unicorn cantered up to Kiku. He looked up at Arthur, who was sitting astride the unicorn and looking pleased with himself.

"Hello," the Brit said, jumping off the unicorn and stroking its mane. He smiled at Kiku. "Said I'd get help."

Kiku couldn't help but smile.

* * *

**Notes:** I know, another short chapter. AND THREE MORE CHAPTERS UNTIL THE END. XD;;

Please remember to vote on the poll!


	18. Yet Dawn is Ever the Hope for Man

**Part XVIII**

The wizards were forced back into the castle as the magical beasts fought outside. Almost all of the Warsaw Pact took the opportunity to defect to the Hogwarts side, firing spells at the Death Eaters as they retreated into the Great Hall.

More people streamed up the steps into the castle. Arthur could see Roderich Edelstein and Elizabeta Héderváry rushing in right behind Charlie Weasley and Yao Wang; Professor Slughorn came running in still wearing his emerald pyjamas. Feliks Łukasiewcz pranced in right behind Liam, Erin, Arawn, and Peter.

"Artie!" Peter yelled, waving at him as he shot a Jelly-Legs Jinx at a Death Eater.

"Hey, Peter!" Arthur called back, as three centaurs burst into the hall and the door that led to the kitchens was blasted away. House-elves streamed into the hall, screaming and waving knives.

"Fight!" one of them shouted, a locket sitting on his chest. "Fight! Fight! Fight for my Master, defender of house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!"

Erised flew past Arthur into the Great Hall. Arthur tugged on Kiku's hand. They rushed into the Great Hall as well.

Pandemonium reigned in the hall. Voldemort was at its very centre, smiting and striking all within reach. Arthur drew his wand, but Francis, Antonio, and Gilbert beat him to the punch.

They started weaving in and out around Voldemort, blocking his spells yet unable to finish him with their own. Arthur watched, entranced and horrified as they danced around him. He tore his gaze away to see Ron and Neville take on Fenrir Greyback.

"No!" he cried as Fenrir tried to sink his teeth into Ron's arm. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

His spell hit the werewolf in the back; Greyback slumped to the ground. Ron looked back at Arthur, nodding a silent thanks before rushing off to fight another Death Eater.

In another section of the hall, Alfred was fighting Ivan. Arthur focused his attention on them, biting his lip so hard that he drew blood.

He was distracted for a moment when Francis dodged a Killing Curse shot mere centimetres away from him. Turning back, his face paled. Alfred was lying face down on the ground.

"Alfred!" Arthur yelled, shooting curses at every Death Eater in his way as he ran towards the American, tears welling up. He turned Alfred's body over and felt for a pulse. There was none. "Alfred, no!"

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" someone screamed from not too far away, and Arthur turned to see Mrs. Weasley, running towards Bellatrix with her wand raised. Ginny, Hermione, and Luna ducked out of the way, as Bellatrix engaged Mrs. Weasley in combat.

Arthur knelt down at Alfred's side, watching the two fights. He wanted to act, but there was nothing he could do – he was helpless, once again.

And then Mrs. Weasley's curse hit Bellatrix directly in the chest. She toppled; Voldemort screamed.

His next curse hit Gilbert; the Prussian was blasted across the room, hit the opposite wall, and fell still. There was a cry and Arthur saw Elisabeta running towards Gilbert, her face white with terror and shock. Ludwig was right behind her. Arthur picked up Alfred's body, walking towards them. Kiku helped him set it down next to Gilbert's. Francis and Antonio raced over; Madeline took Francis's hand reassuringly.

"_Protego_!" someone roared. A Shield Charm rose between Voldemort and Mrs. Weasley; Arthur looked on with awe as Harry pulled off his Invisibility Cloak.

"HE'S ALIVE!" Arthur screamed, something echoed by everyone else in the hall for a few seconds before falling into stiff silence. Harry and Voldemort paced around the hall, circling each other like wolves.

"I don't want anyone else trying to help," Harry said loudly. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."

"Potter doesn't mean that," Voldemort hissed back. "That's not how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"

"Nobody," Harry replied calmly. "Because there are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and today one of us will leave for good."

"One of us?" Voldemort jeered, but Arthur could tell that his body was coiled like a snake's. "You think it will be you, the Boy Who Lived only because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"

"Accident, was it, when my mum died to save me?" Harry asked, and Arthur watched them as if they were predators ready to fight over prey. "Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight and still survived to return to fight?"

"_Accidents_!" screamed Voldemort, and Arthur's breath hitched. Everyone else seemed to be just as breathless. "Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and snivelled behind the skirts of greater men and women, permitting me to kill them for you!"

And on they went, while the rest of the hall watched. There was something deadly in the air around the two, a tension that seemed almost tangible. Arthur could hardly breathe for fear that he would shatter the moment.

"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Harry asked, his voice low but just as deadly as Voldemort's. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does, then I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

Right at that moment, the sun appeared. Dawn came, and with it came hope on red-gold wings. The light hit Harry and Voldemort, turning them into flaming blurs as they shouted their spells.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

The spells, red upon green, collided in a shower of golden flames. The Elder Wand flew across the ceiling, a little black line against the sunrise. It flew to Harry; Harry caught it as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed. He hit the ground, like so many other people before him, and suddenly Arthur felt as if some great weight had been lifted from his chest.

"YES!" he screamed, shattering the silence. Everyone started screaming and cheering; everyone ran towards Harry. Ron and Hermione reached him first, and then Arthur, Ginny, Luna, Neville were there, and then everyone else was pushing and pulling, desperate to touch their new symbol of hope.

As Arthur staggered back to the side of the hall where the dead Nations lay, he saw something else that lightened him up even more. Alfred was awake, cornflower-coloured eyes alight with happiness.

"What's going on?" he demanded, jumping to his feet. "Where's Nataliya? Where's Harry? Is You-Know-Who dead yet?"

"Yeah, he's dead!" Arthur cheered, engulfing the American in a hug. "Harry just defeated him!"

Alfred tensed suddenly, and Arthur turned to see Nataliya standing there, a smile on her face as brilliant as the rising sun.

"Nat!" Alfred yelled, sprinting towards her.

"Alfred!" she called back, running to meet him halfway down the hall. He engulfed her in a bear hug, spinning her around. "It's over!"

"I can't believe it either!" the American called back, his laughter ringing through the air. "It's finally over!"

Arthur turned to look at Kiku, who smiled at him and nodded. "Finally over," the Japanese echoed. Arthur smiled, wrapping an arm around him.

"Where's Ivan?" someone asked; it was Yekaterina Braginskaya. "Where's Brother?"

"He's left," Toris Lorinatis answered. "Left after the Dark Lord fell. He's gone back to Russia to bide his time."

Arthur really didn't care about that – neither did the rest of the Warsaw Pact, it seemed, because Yekaterina was hugging Matthew Williams and Toris and Feliks were reuniting as well, crying tears of laughter. Arthur smiled, but the smile faded as he saw Francis, Antonio, and Ludwig.

Detached from the celebrations, they were huddled around a body – the only Nation that had not revived.

"Gilbert?" Elisabeta asked, kneeling down next to the Prussian's body, one finger tracing a cheek. "Gilbert, wake up."

"Why won't he wake?" Antonio whispered. Francis shook his head.

"Prussia's not a country anymore," Roderich said solemnly from Arthur's other side. Ludwig nodded sadly.

"My brotherly love for him kept him alive," the German mumbled, his voice thick with tears. "It's not enough to bring him back…"

Arthur watched as Elisabeta burst into tears, sobbing into Gilbert's shirt. Roderich knelt down and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Gilbert Beilschmidt of Prussia was dead for good.

* * *

**Notes:** As you read this, I am packing to go live in a bomb shelter because you will all hate me for killing off Prussia, yeah? I'm sorry, but it's sad, historical fact. At least he died fighting, something that the Prussians valued (since they were all about the military).


	19. Come What May

**Notes:** Once again, that may have been very tactless of me to kill Prussia off on his birthday. But I don't regret the actual act, because this was written months ago. I just probably shouldn't have put it up yesterday.

Epilogue (Chapter 20) coming tomorrow. And for those who want closure on Gilbo's death, kindly skip over to my collection of BHL-verse drabbles to read about the awesome things he did as a ghost.

* * *

**Part XIX**

Piano music echoed mournfully through the little German church as Ludwig Beilschmidt walked up to a podium. At the front of the church was an urn bedecked with flowers. Elisabeta, Feliciano, Antonio, Lovino, Madeline, and Francis sat in the front nearest to the urn, Francis crying on Madeline's shoulder and Elisabeta with her face obscured by a black veil.

"Gilbert, my brother, was a noble man," Ludwig said quietly, and even from his seat, Arthur could see the shine of silent tears trickling down the German's cheeks. "He could be inconsiderate at times, but his heart was always in the right place."

Next to Arthur sat Kiku, whose face appeared calm but Arthur could tell by his uneven breathing that he was holding in tears. Nataliya dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief as she leaned on Alfred's shoulder.

"Although he was arrogant and narcissistic, he also loved his family and friends and would do anything for them. He saved my life when I was little, and for that I will be forever grateful."

Arthur heard Kiku sniffle. He put an arm around the Japanese man, silently trying to comfort him.

"I was only six when Gilbert and I were in a car accident. Vater and Mutter were killed instantly and I was in critical condition." Ludwig paused, wiping some tears from his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Gilbert was the only one I lived for, the only one I had left when the doctors came in and told me... told me that Vater and Mutter were dead." There he paused again, and Arthur could see him struggling to pull himself together. He understood.

If he had been the only one in his family left, he would have felt the same.

"We stayed strong for each other afterwards, because our guardian did not care for us as much as we cared for each other. Gilbert was never a family-oriented individual, but he was the best brother and friend I've ever had."

The others made speeches as well, each one more heartbreaking than the one before. Roderich's piano music grew more and more melancholy as Elisabeta broke down in the middle of her speech about her friendship and relationship with Gilbert. Kiku rested his head on Arthur's shoulder; Arthur felt his shirt growing damp. He patted Kiku's shoulder, struggling against the urge to cry.

They buried Gilbert's ashes in the eastern side of Berlin, in a quiet little cemetery where the wind blew mournfully through the trees. It was raining when they carried the urn out to the gravesite; the ground was slick with mud but the sky represented the mood in the small funeral procession that brought Gilbert to his last resting spot.

The urn was lowered into the ground; Elisabeta looked ready to throw herself into the grave. Roderich grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

Francis took a rose from the floral arrangement and tossed it into the grave. "Adieu, Gilbert," he said as he and Antonio raised their wands and filled in the hole with a flick.

The rest of the flowers they placed on the simple headstone. Arthur took Kiku's hand as the mourners all disbanded. As they walked, they looked back to see Francis, Antonio, and Ludwig still standing there gazing at the grave.

"Shall we go back to Hogwarts?" Arthur asked after a moment. "Harry wants us to attend the victory feast there tonight."

Kiku looked at him, taking his hand and resting his head on Arthur's shoulder. "The others ought to go," he said after a moment. "They deserve the honour more than we."

Arthur nodded. "They do, and they know about it," he said. "I'm sure they'll be there."

* * *

Hogwarts, home sweet home. In the afternoon sunlight, it gleamed like a fairytale palace. It was hard to imagine that just a week ago a bloody battle had been fought on the very lawn that Arthur and Kiku were walking on as they approached the heavy oaken doors.

"Bonjour!" Fleur Delacour cried from her spot on the school steps; she had been sitting there enjoying the sunshine with a turquoise-haired baby. "Arthur, c'est good to see you!"

"And you, too, Fleur!" Arthur replied with a grin, looking at the baby. "Is that Teddy Lupin?"

"Oui!" Fleur's face glowed with happiness. "Eesn't 'e adorable?"

"Quite." Arthur watched Teddy grab Kiku's finger. "Francis will be along in time for the feast, I'm sure," he added.

He and Kiku walked into the castle. All around, Hogwarts still sported signs of damage from the battle, but for the most part it had been repaired during their tenure in Germany. Students lined the corridors – some were studying, others were chatting, and a few were watching him and Kiku walk past.

"It's odd, being back here but not as a student," Kiku said as they passed by a couple having tea in an alcove. Arthur smiled at them.

They glimpsed several other Order members and even the Trio as they walked through the castle once more, remembering their happy school days.

"Feli-kun, Ludwig-san, and I met here," Kiku said, pointing to a suit of armour next to a tapestry on the third floor. "In first year, we hid behind the tapestry and surprised people walking by – or at least Feli-kun did that." Arthur smiled, watching three students duck behind the tapestry.

They passed by the entrance to the Charms corridor. "Look, the forbidden corridor in second year," Arthur noted. "Alfred and I met Fluffy there. He was a three-headed dog that belonged to Hagrid. Wonder what happened to him."

"I heard Heracles Karpusi adopted him," Kiku replied with a smile. Arthur chuckled.

"Good, that dog needed fresh air." At that, Kiku laughed.

They headed down a flight of stairs and passed by Moaning Myrtle's bathroom entrance. "Look, the writing on the wall..." Kiku said, pointing. The blood had been largely removed, but there were still brown splotches in places. "Everyone believed that Harry was the Heir."

"And Ivan accused Francis of the same," Arthur added. Back up a flight of stairs all the way to the fourth floor. "Fourth year, the library. I was caught kissing Francis against that window."

Kiku stiffened, but when Arthur squeezed his hand reassuringly, he relaxed and gave a happy-sounding sigh. "Fifth year... w-we studied for OWLs t-together..." They walked up to the seventh floor.

"Sixth year, Room of Requirement," Arthur said as they passed by the tapestry of trolls in tutus. "We were in Dumbledore's Army, resisting Umbridge's reign of terror."

"Y-you gave me my first k-k-kiss under the m-mistletoe," Kiku added, blushing. Down another corridor, towards the door that would lead up to...

"Seventh year," Arthur and Kiku said simultaneously. Hand-in-hand, they ran up the staircase leading up to the Astronomy Tower, where it all began for them.

"You told me you loved me here," Arthur whispered, looking out at the rest of Hogwarts from the ramparts.

"B-but the D-Death Eaters came," Kiku added, looking away. Arthur took out the ring from the folds of his robes, hiding it in his hand.

"I dreamed of you," he said, trying to appear calm and hoping he succeeded. Kiku looked up at him, eyes wide.

"R-really?" A smile broke out on his face, and Arthur swore nothing looked more beautiful than Kiku at that moment. Speechlessly nodding, Arthur tried to find his voice and his thoughts again.

"I d-dreamed of us and a little girl," he said after a moment, his voice hoarse. "She was beautiful. And in the forest, when I met with Erised, I saw that girl in the mirror."

Kiku looked at him intently, and Arthur took the attentiveness as a good sign. "The... the faeries fought that day because they were fighting for the one thing they truly believe in – love. Erised knew my parents, knew that when my mum was reborn after the Viking attacks she had to regain knowledge of her Nation persona... she had to fall in love with my dad all over again..." Great, now he felt like he was going off on a random tangent. "Aah, I'm rambling...sorry."

"I-It's all right," Kiku replied, smiling slightly. "W-what do you want to say?"

"You and me and a little family," Arthur said after a moment of thought. "That's all I want now. Now that we're in peace, I want to make up for those years you spent pining over me while I chased others, thinking that I was in love with them." Well, in a way, he still loved Alfred and Francis, but it wasn't the same. It was more like friendship, the ties of loyalty and camaraderie and a sense of family... Alfred was like his little brother and Francis was like a friendly half-rival.

It was now that he would make the distinction between Kiku and the rest of his friends. Arthur took a deep breath. All or nothing.

He dropped to one knee.

"Kiku Honda, will you marry me?" he asked, choosing not to beat around the bush anymore. Kiku had waited long enough.

Kiku's blush was almost lost as the setting sun, as if on cue, dyed the sky crimson. "A-Arthur-san," he gasped as Arthur held up his mother's ring, looking hopefully at him. "H-hai... I will be by your side forever..."

"Come what may?" Arthur asked as he slipped the ring onto Kiku's finger.

"Come what may," the Japanese confirmed, and they embraced. Arthur spun Kiku around a little, smiling against his shoulder. They broke apart and looked at each other, and Arthur was sure that Kiku's smile mirrored his perfectly.

And then he kissed him.

**END NIL DESPERANDUM**


	20. Five Years Later

**Notes:** WHAT IS THIS? IT'S DONE! *THROWS CONFETTI* Thank you all for putting up with me for twenty more chapters of this... what is this I don't even... XD;; Anyways, thank you so much! Your reviews are absolutely wonderful and they make my day.

Always feel free to request a drabble for _The Little Things_! I'll be finishing up my final thoughts on this... thing... in my memoir _Behind the Scenes of Blurring House Lines_ on Fictionpress. The link's in my profile. So if you were wondering why I put Arthur in Slytherin, why I ended it Asakiku, and why I named Arthur's owl Driscoll (amid other things), then you can go take a peep at that. Warning in advance: lots of rambling and random tangents - not to mention that the first chapter is stuffed with stuff from my life.

With that being said, on with the epilogue!

**

* * *

Part XX**

_2 May 2003_

"The first meeting of the new International Confederation of Wizards shall now be called to order."

Arthur Kirkland, Supreme Mugwump and representative of England, stood up at the podium and looked out at his colleagues. They were all familiar: Alfred, Francis, Nataliya, Kiku, Madeline, and so many others were sitting in their respective seats. Even Ivan Braginski was there, looking rather sulky in the seat labelled 'Russia' with a light-coloured scarf wound around his neck.

"Today is the fifth anniversary of the fall of Lord Voldemort," Arthur continued, and there were still some flinches in the room as he said the name. It seemed dreams ago when the name and its adverse reactions actually meant anything. "Today is the day when all of you saved my life, and for that I am in your debt."

He smiled; they smiled back.

"There is a reason why we were all selected to be on this Confederation. I hope you have already figured out why." He paused. "We are all Nations. We are the world, and working together, we bring peace to all.

"Peace is everyone in the world working together to make life brighter. Peace is accepting people for who they are. Peace is blurring lines between Nations, between factions, between parties. Today marks the fifth anniversary since war fell and peace began. Today is a day of acceptance and friendship. Today, I extend to you, my fellow Nations, my hand in friendship. I hope you will take it."

He held out his hand, smiling nervously, expectantly.

Kiku Honda, representative of Japan, got out of his seat, walked up to him, and shook his hand. Arthur beamed at his husband, mouthing 'I love you' to him. The Japanese man blushed and walked back.

United States representative Alfred F. Jones was next, bouncing over and enthusiastically shaking his hand.

Francis Bonnefois, Madeline Desmarais, and Nataliya Arlovskaya followed suit. Ludwig Beilschmidt, Feliciano Vargas, Antonio Carriedo, and Elisabeta Héderváry were next. All around the assembly room, people applauded.

"We are the world!" Alfred yelled, and everyone took up the chant until all anyone could hear was those four words together – a chant of hope and unity.

Arthur had never felt happier.

* * *

"The election results are in, and Kingsley Shacklebolt returns as our Minister of Magic," Hermione Granger reported as Arthur left the General Assembly room. "Have there been new additions to the Security Council?"

The new Security Council of the International Confederation of Wizards comprised of the three permanent members – England, France, and Belarus. Three other members joined barely a year into the reformation of the Confederation – Japan, the United States, and Seychelles. These six nations were widely known to have contributed the most to the fight against Voldemort.

"Austria, China, and Turkey," Arthur reported. He looked down at Hermione's hand. "Did Ron propose?" he asked suddenly. The girl blushed.

"Y-yeah, he did. Just this morning!" she smiled at him. "It was surprising, actually… I thought he wouldn't have the guts."

"Well, Ron's a surprising person," Arthur reasoned. "What about Harry and Ginny?"

"They've moved in together, but I don't know if they're going to get married. Harry never talks about his personal life anymore, but then again he's been busy revamping the Auror Office!"

They set off down the hall towards her office. "How has your work been?" Arthur asked Hermione.

"Transferring all my work up from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is pretty exhausting," she replied as they paused outside the Auror Office. Ron Weasley was waving at her from inside. "Should we drop by?"

Her question was answered as Ron and Harry appeared at the door. "Hey, Arthur! Just ended your meeting?" Ron asked as Harry Potter grinned sheepishly at them and tried to flatten his hair probably out of force of habit. Arthur smiled.

"Yeah. Not much to say, seeing that it's the fifth anniversary of Voldemort's downfall," he replied.

"That reminds me!" Harry exclaimed suddenly, and the others froze, eyes darting up to his scar. "No, it's not about my scar; it's about the celebratory party that Ginny's going to hold tonight at our place."

"Oh, yeah, she wouldn't shut up about it last time I had her over for dinner," Ron groaned. Hermione lightly cuffed him.

"Hey, we have perfect reason to celebrate," Harry replied defensively, but Ron chuckled.

"Naw, mate, we'll come to your party. Arthur, you going?"

"Yeah, but you should tell the other Nations," Arthur said, directing the last bit at Harry.

* * *

It was nothing short of magic and a miracle that Harry and Ginny's London town home was somehow able to accommodate all of their friends plus the Nations.

"I hope you didn't invite the rest of the family," Arthur muttered to Ginny as he and Kiku walked into the living room where Francis was opening a bottle of firewhisky.

"I didn't," Ginny replied, as Madeline walked into the room with trays of some sort of seafood appetiser. "Maddy, did you say that you have a restaurant now?"

Madeline beamed. "Yes, in Paris," she replied. "I'm thinking of opening up a branch in Diagon Alley, though."

"We'd love to have that!" Ron added, his plate piled high with seafood already. "Man, this stuff is delicious!"

"Thanks," Madeline replied, leaving the room to get more.

"Hey, Artie!" Alfred exclaimed, bouncing in from the kitchen. Nataliya followed close behind. "I just proposed to Nat!"

The Belarusian girl blushed furiously, but Hermione perked up slightly. "Really? Congratulations!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, congratulations," Arthur echoed, smiling at Nataliya. "How is writing for the _Thunderbird_?" he asked. Nataliya had moved to the States with Alfred a year after Voldemort's downfall, becoming a writer for a popular Wizarding magazine there.

"Not bad," she reasoned. "The workload is always strenuous around deadline, but I can manage. It's amazing that Alfred managed to take some leave off from Salem to come over here, though. They run their professors through the mill over there."

"Well, when you personally know Headmaster Ludsworth things tend to be easier," Alfred replied, shrugging. "What about you and Kiku, huh, Artie? Celebrating your fourth-year anniversary today, right?" Arthur and Kiku had married a year after the Battle of Hogwarts; their reception had been interrupted by Fleur Delacour suddenly going into labour.

Kiku blushed and nodded. "We're thinking about adopting a child from Japan," he added. "A Muggle girl who has a big imagination and bright green eyes."

"She's a doll," agreed Arthur, fumbling in his robes and taking out a picture. The little girl smiled up at them from the Muggle photograph. "Her mother was English; her father was Japanese. They both died recently, because she's one of the newer orphans."

"Poor child," Nataliya whispered. "Well, I wish you all the luck with that! Oh, hello, Kat!"

Yekaterina Williams, née Braginskaya, came walking over with a little boy sitting in her arms and sucking his thumb. She smiled at Nataliya. "How have you been, sister?" she asked. "Matthew's gone to get something for Hugh." She gestured slightly to the boy. "Hugh, say hello!"

The boy looked at them and waved shyly. "Can he talk?" Arthur asked hesitantly.

"Yes, but he doesn't talk much," Yekaterina replied, as Hugh went back to sucking his thumb. "When he does, though, it's quite a treat to hear."

Alfred took Hugh from her and bounced him up and down slightly. "What kind of name is Hugh, honestly?" he wondered aloud, a joking grin on his face. "I prefer the name 'Allen' myself."

The little boy made a face at him and smacked his cheek. "Hugh!" Yekaterina exclaimed, taking him back. "No slapping Uncle Alfred!"

Arthur snickered as Alfred rubbed his cheek.

* * *

When the party ended, Arthur and Kiku returned home to their flat in Manchester. "Someday we'll move out of this place," Arthur said with a grin as he looked up at the stars, one finger crossed as he silently wished for a beautiful tomorrow.

Kiku put an arm around him. "Hai," he agreed. "Where will we go?"

"Somewhere nice and quiet, I think," Arthur said, smiling at Kiku. "Somewhere beautiful... somewhere where I can spend my holidays with nature's magic..."

In the morning, he would go back to Hogwarts because his vacation leave was ending. In the morning, his Kiku would Disapparate to St. Mungo's and save some more lives. In the morning their lives would begin again, lives in which they were anything but Nations.

But for that moment, neither cared.

All was well.


End file.
